Tumble
by Flippant Wisdom
Summary: KaiShin; Shinichi's keeping a secret and Kaito's out to discover it. Rating due to brief language, graphic material, and sex.
1. Tumble

Author's Note: Inspired by another one of the chapter's from Chatty Plunnies, this one being Afterlife Conversations (Chapter 40). Again dedicated to Dragon-sama, and especially Koorii for looking over this. *much love*

Author's Note #2: First DC fic on from me. Go figure it would be this one. XD

Chapter One: _Tumble_

-

Kaito was quickly beginning to dislike Shinichi's pit stops. Since they had started the road trip, they had made three (this was number four) and each time, without fail, they had 'stumbled' across a dead body.

The first pit stop had resulted in them finding the wife of the owner in the freezer. She'd been sleeping with any passer-through that would have her. They located the body of one of her flings in the corn field out back.

The second pit stop they'd found a man dead on the side of the street and left to rot several streets over after stopping to get a bite to eat at a dinner the locals had all raved about. The man's father had murdered him after he discovered his son was stealing hundreds of thousands of yen from him. He'd tried to make it look like a random accident.

The third pit stop Kaito had slept mostly through. By the time he'd come round, Shinichi was just wrapping everything up. The teen magician still wasn't entirely sure about all the details, but apparently a young girl had been murdered because it turned out she and the local preacher had been having an affair, and when she'd when she'd suddenly broke up with him, he'd gone into a fit of rage and murdered her. They'd found her body in a well.

Kaito was getting the feeling there was nothing to do with 'stumbling' across them anymore.

Especially this time.

They didn't need gas. They didn't need to get a bite to eat (they'd eaten an hour previously). It was too early for turning in. And yet, here they were, because Shinichi had suddenly gotten an odd look on his face as they'd passed the four-way and decided to go left instead of right.

Which had lead to them turning into a town that was on high alert looking for a girl that had been missing for the better part of twenty-four hours.

"She- She just went out to play," the little girl's mother, Kyouga Ritsuga, explained through her sobs into one of the ever ready handkerchiefs Kaito kept on hand and had produced for her. "She's such a sweet girl." The woman sniffed, hard. "She'd never do something like this!"

Kaito patted the woman on the back, radiating calm and soothing. Over Kyouga's head, he glanced at Shinichi. The teen detective was looking out towards the woods with that same odd look he'd had when he'd made the deliberate wrong turn. It took a moment, but Kaito finally realized what was so disturbing about it.

Shinichi looked as if the girl was already dead. They just hadn't found her body yet, which didn't make any sense because there really wasn't any clues as to what happened to her. Shinichi was a good detective, but he wasn't that good.

Kaito swallowed, and gave the woman a last pat. "If anyone can find her alive, my Shinichi will." Kyouga nodded, even if she didn't look like she believed him any more than he believed himself.

He turned back to Shinichi, who was staring at something wide-eyed. Kaito blinked. "Shinichi?"

Shinichi didn't take his eyes off whatever he was watching. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He was off and running for the forest without another word.

Kaito snorted. Like hell he was going to stay here. He was going to find out what was going on.

And, more importantly, he was going to find out what that look was about. There was something very, very wrong with that look.

"We'll be back later," he told the woman, but she didn't seem to be listening. He didn't stick around to tell her again.

Laughter ringed in his ears. A white skirt twirled once, before vanishing in the green of the forest.

Shinichi knew Kyouga Kara was dead.

Just like he knew he was following a ghost. It was a fact that should have bothered him, but after several years of seeing them, he had grown quite used to them. Even if he wished they would leave him alone. He could solve their deaths just fine without their... help.

He still couldn't seem to stop himself from running the moment he saw one, though.

Little Kara skipped along the path seemingly without a care in the world, and completely oblivious to the fact she was, indeed dead. She would occasionally glance back, before giggling and darting off in a new direction. She had already lead him deep into the forest and if she went much farther, he wasn't sure she would be the only one that needed to be found.

He spotted her standing on the edge of the path, staring into some distant part of the forest only she could see. When he came closer, she smiled sadly at him, and then stepped off the path.

Shinichi realized wherever she had just gone, he was about to find out how she had died. Swallowing in an attempt to calm his racing heart, he took that first step off the path. And then promptly slipped on the rain damp grass.

Right down a very steep hill.

Shinichi yelped, trying to grab something - anything - that would stop his fall. Some addled part of his mind pointed out this had probably happened to Kara, too. It had been raining off-and-on for days, and if she'd had slipped, she could have easily have broken her neck on the way down. It was only too late that he realized, just as the ground disappeared under him, that it wasn't the fall down the hill that had killed her.

It was the fall over the cliff that had.

Shinichi grabbed at the ledge as he went over, but the ground was too soft and damp to find any purchase. He cursed as his hands slipped and for one horrifying moment, he was in free fall.

And then the hand caught him.

"Hold-," Kaito grunted as Shinichi's weight and momentum very nearly pulled him over, too. He adjusted his grip on the tree. "Hold on."

Shinichi stared up at him in amazement. "Kaito? Wha... What are you doing here?"

Kaito managed a strained laugh. "You thought I'd let you run off on your own like that?"

The teen detective scowled. "Baka-kaitou."

The teen magician just smiled at that, and readjusted his position. "You're going to have to find some footing." He grinned, despite the obvious effort it was taking to hold them up. "Position doesn't allow for any free hands. And who knows how long this tree will last?"

As if to emphasis this, the tree creaked just so.

Both boys gulped.

Shinichi set about the task of finding something - a rock, a root, anything - he could brace himself on. In the sunlight, just above eye level, something glinted in the sun light. He was sure when he had the moment to spare to think about it, he'd recognize it, but for the moment, he had more important things to do. Like survive this.

Several inches up from his left foot, to his relief, was a thick root protruding from the ground. He twisted, apologizing as Kaito made a pained noise at the movement. Once he was steady, he gripped at the grass again with his free hand. It wasn't very sturdy and it wouldn't hold for long, but it would have to be enough.

He looked up at Kaito. "Secure yourself better."

The other teen blinked. "To do that I'd have to let you go."

Shinichi nodded. He looked down at the water below. Little Kara stared back, eyes sad and regretful. She expected that he'd be joining her soon.

Not very likely.

"I know that."

Kaito gaped. "But you could fall-!" He glared. "I am not going to let you fall to your death to save myself!"

Shinichi's expression was dry. "Baka, like I'm Kazuha." There was an edge of fond exasperation at the half-insult. The look grew serious as he explained, "It doesn't do either of any good if you fall trying to pull us up."

Kaito's glare only heated up. "I hate your logic."

Shinichi smiled sweetly and completely without repent.

Kaito looked between the tree, to their clasped hands, and then to the fingers precariously hanging onto the ledge. "If you fall-"

"I won't fall. You won't let me."

Kaito started at that, turning a little pink. Shinichi didn't talk like that very often, but when he did...

Very reluctantly, Kaito let go.

And Shinichi didn't fall.

Quickly, Kaito secured himself, and then got a much better hold on Shinichi. With painstaking care and not a little pain on either's side, Shinichi was once again on solid ground again, both spent but blessedly alive.

Despite having exerted himself more, Kaito recovered first. And he was furious. "Idiot detective, what the hell were you doing running off like that?"

Shinichi glanced at the cliff. He couldn't, exactly say that he'd been following a ghost. Instead, he reached over to untangle the object he'd seen.

It was the bracelet Kara had been wearing when she disappeared. Kaito and Shinichi stared at it, one carefully blank and the other with a dawning sorrow.

"Kyouga Kara is dead. She slipped down the hill and right over the cliff."

Kaito looked from the bracelet to the cliff. He was many things, and even more that he would admit to, but he certainly wasn't an idiot. There should have been no way they'd wind up right there, right where she fell. It was too random. Right? Unless, somehow...

He turned his gaze on his partner, eyes sharp and searching. "Shinichi...? Why did you run off like that?"

Shinichi, instead of answering, carefully got to his feet. "We should get back to town. They should know where to start looking."

Kaito knew a subject change when he saw one. He was, after all, a master of them. Reaching out, careful not to over balance either of them, he grabbed Shinichi's arm. "Shinichi-!"

Shinichi jerked his arm free. Glaring, he turned to say something; he wasn't sure what and would never know, as he spotted Kara behind Kaito. She seemed pleased neither had fallen. Shinichi swallowed, suddenly aware of how easily they really could have joined her. How close he'd come to getting Kaito killed from trying to save him.

He turned away to distract himself from wanting to kick himself. "There's a mother who needs to know what happened to her daughter. They might find her body if they know where to look." He started up the hill, mindful of slippery spots.

Kaito watched him go with narrowed eyes. Something was going on here, and, even if he had to do something drastic like tying the detective up and refusing to let him go until he told him, he wasn't going to let it go until he found out what it was.

-tbc


	2. The Sweet Tart Hotel

Author's note: Many thanks to Crysania Fay for the beta. Chapter is, once again, dedicated to Koorii and Sama for inspiring and keeping me in the KaiShin mood.

Chapter Two: _The Sweet Tart Hotel_

What he was doing could, quite possibly be called glaring. The only reason he wouldn't flat out call it such was because he'd have to turn his head to blatantly glare and keep it there. Which lead to cricks in his neck, and what did paining himself do especially if the _other person_ wasn't bothered by the glaring?

Kaito pulled out a single juggling ball. The little thing was light weight and well used; a favorite, even. He'd grabbed it because it was the same shade of blue as Shinichi's eyes. He wondered when he'd gotten so bad that he'd started choosing his props because they reminded him of the detective.

Too damn long ago, if he were honest with himself.

He pulled another ball, and then another out (one pink, one green, deliberately chosen to make up for choosing the blue one) and went through the simple motions of juggling. The other teen's driving, despite his parentage, was surprisingly calm. Kaito could have done such a beginner's trick even if Shinichi had inherited Yukiko's drag racing tendencies, but it was the principle of the thing.

Hands occupied, he went back to his not-glaring.

Shinichi's eye brow twitched. Kaito suppressed a victorious smirk.

Shinichi's grip on the wheel tightened. His knuckles were going to start turning white shortly.

Oh, yes, he knew what this was about.

"You're sulking," the detective stated, instead of just giving in (his partner always did make him work for it).

It was quite possible what he was doing could be called that, too. He preferred to call it: trying-to-annoy-you-into-spilling,-dammit. "You're keeping secrets." He was tempted to do something drastic, and maybe a bit mean, but he didn't want to startle Shinichi while he was driving. He was suspicious the other teen had done that on purpose.

The detective raised an eyebrow and took advantage of a red light to give the magician The Look.

Ok, he might have deserved that. Once. A _year ago._

He _may_ have left a few details out when they'd discussed (or rather, Shinichi deduced and Kid didn't agree or disagree with anything) what he was really doing as Kid. He _might_ have failed to bring up the bait-for-mysterious-group-of-killers part, but he was damned near certain the detective had already known anout it. Their relationship had been too new, too uncertain of too many things for Kaito to be sure it was going to last or that Shinichi would let him do what he needed to do.

Shinichi had never called him on it and he'd certainly never tried to make him feel guilty for it. Even when his little stunt may have gotten Snake arrested, but had gotten him _shot_ (bullet to the chest, just above the heart. Kaito still wondered how Snake had _missed_) as well.

He'd scared them both pretty bad with that stunt. Shinichi hadn't really shown how scared he'd been, but Kaito could guess. For a week, whenever they were alone, Shinichi hadn't so much held his hand, so much as held his wrist, two fingers pressed to the pulse. The gesture had effectively driven home just how deep into this relationship Shinichi was, and had made Kaito feel so guilty, he'd sworn never to keep those kinds of secrets and plans from Shinichi ever again (even if he couldn't promise he wouldn't pull that kind of stunt again).

Kaito's eyes narrowed, and he turned to finally give the detective the brunt of his glare, to heck with the crick. Shinichi knew all of that, so why had he played that card? It was childish, and something one might expect of a seven year old. Which Shinichi wasn't, even if he'd said it with Conan's voice and Conan's body.

"Shinichi, if you don't want to talk about it, just say so. Don't..." He searched for a nice way to put it, but his annoyance was too great to let him get away with it. He gave in. "Don't jerk me around, especially if it's important."

He had thought they were past this. He could understand keeping secrets - the big ones - when they were trying to fool a criminal, but Kaito was fairly sure this wasn't one of those times. What could the detective be hiding that he felt he couldn't even trust his boyfriend and partner?

The light had turned green minutes ago. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito could see it turning yellow. They had missed the light.

Not that it was particularly important. No one was behind them.

Shinichi made a soft sound that might have been an irritated sigh. Or an amused one. The detective was like that sometimes. "It's... not important." He paused, seemed to rethink that, then added, "It's not anything worth worrying about."

Right, like Kaito was going to believe that. Not.

Kaito added another ball to the mix, an orange one. Something like a vicious grin tugged at the corner of his lips. "You know... I could always get you to tell me by singing for you."

Shinichi stepped on the gas, and spared him a quick blank look. "Kaito, you have a great singing voice."

The grin won out. "While I'm imitating you."

The detective audibly gulped. Why use crude instruments and other nasty brands of torture when all one had to do was listen to the detective sing? What made it even more effective was that Shinichi wasn't any more immune to it - when it was coming from someone else. He winced.

Kaito knew the moment he had won (not that this was a contest, really. He just hated when Shinichi kept secrets from him and they were doing so well at that, lately), when a resigned look crossed Shinichi's face. The detective opened his mouth--

Only to state, "There's the hotel."

Kaito blinked. He opened his mouth to protest (because that really was a distraction, and since when had Shinichi started using distraction so much?), only for Shinichi to take the corner a little too tightly (hello, there was his mother's driving skills) and nearly send him flying into the door. "Shinichi?!" His eyes widened, and abandoning all pretenses of dignity, preceded to cling to the seat belt. "What the he-- SLOW DOWN!"

Shinichi had decided to do that by coming to a jarring halt. In a parking spot. When they came back to the car to retrieve it days later, Kaito would note it was perfectly parked.

As if nothing was wrong and he hadn't just up and tried to kill them, Shinichi stated, "We're here."

Kaito nearly whimpered.

He was glad he had had the presence of mind to put the juggling balls away when Shinichi had made that first turn. They would have gone flying and would be a pain to retrieve if any of them had gone under the seat.

Prying his stiff fingers from the nylon they were trying to strangle, Kaito reached over and skillfully picked the other teens hands of the keys. Shinichi raised an eyebrow, his hands making an open-close motion as if dismayed the keys were suddenly gone. He gave the magician a deadpan glare. "I will find those."

Kaito waggled the fingers of his empty hands, the keys already safely tucked in one of his numerous pockets. "You haven't even figured out where my cloths are."

Shinichi scowled. He had tried finding the other teen's hiding place for days, before giving up and waiting for Kaito to give himself away. Kaito was rather pleased with the trick and had yet to let the detective forget it.

"You have to go to sleep eventually."

Smirk. "Only after you." Leer.

Shinichi pondered this, pausing as he reached for the door. He groaned and blushed as he realized what Kaito had meant and that it really wasn't untrue. "Die."

Kaito thought someone might think he meant that one day - when he started sounding irritated and not a kind of longsuffering fond.

-----

The Sweet Tart Hotel was one of the several hotels Shinichi had looked into in the area. There were quite a few others littered throughout the towns to the east and south of them, just in case they had gotten spontaneous and decided to deviate from the general direction they'd chosen for the road trip.

Shinichi liked to think he was at least slightly prepared for the trip. Even if they had spent the first few nights in the car because Kaito had decided to take a _really_ random back road and gotten them well and truly lost. It had taken three days and two nights to get turned back in the right direction and Shinichi had refused to allow Kaito to drive after that.

The hotel's main lobby was a bright, well furnished little establishment that, despite the candy it was named after, smelled like someone had gotten carried away with a foul smelling floral air spray. Kaito resisted the urge to wrinkle his nose at the smell as they entered. Shinichi sneezed, showing he wasn't any more inclined towards liking the smell either.

As they approached the reception desk, two women - one of whom appeared to work there, her name badge proclaiming her family name to be Akimoto - were discussing room arrangements for the woman not behind the desk. Neither paid them much more mind than a quick glance and a 'Just a minute, please' from Akimoto before going back to business.

Her five-to-six year old daughter looked up as they came to stand in line, her pretty emerald green eyes half-lidded in boredom. Kaito smiled at her, crouching down to make himself eye level with her. She followed the movement, too young to have much more wariness for him than just childish caution brought about by her mother constant 'don't talk to strangers' speeches.

He held his hands up for her to see. She tilted her head to the side, not sure what she should be looking for. She promptly squealed in delight as, with a flick of the wrist, he made a red rose appear with a small poof of pink smoke. He offered it to her and the little girl took it, her tiny fingers curling around the thorn less stem as if she expected it to vanish as unexpectedly as it appeared.

Her mother and Akimoto's conversation broke off at the sound of her amusement, and both women looked down to see Kaito pull a handkerchief from his sleeve to begin another trick.

Shinichi sighed, heavily. "He thinks he's a magician. Believe me, he's completely harmless." He assured them, resisting the urge to kick the other teen.

Kaito, seemingly oblivious, made a show of being confused over the handkerchief being tied to not one, not three, but four other handkerchiefs. His grin was growing ever broader with ever giggle he elicited from his little audience.

The mother looked torn between letting her daughter continue her impromptu magic show and pulling her away from the strange, albeit amusing, young man. Akimoto seemed to have no reservations either way, and appeared to be enjoying the show as much as the little girl.

In the end, the mother went back to making her arrangements. Akimoto seemed a little disappointed she was being pulled back to work.

By the time the mother had finished, Kaito had made a fool of himself juggling and pretending he didn't actually know where the multiple pieces of candy came from (he handed each to the little girl, with strict instructions from her mother not to eat them until she had inspected them to see if they were safe). He had made two doves appear from nowhere (Akimoto had, regretfully, had to scold him for this, saying that policy stated no animals were allowed in the main lobby. Kaito had apologized, good-natured like, and made the birds disappear just as easily as they appeared. The little girl had pouted, but Kaito had reminded her that rules were rules and some were just polite to follow). He had even thrown a round of 'pick-a-card' in there, just because the little girl had seen a magician on tv doing it and she had always wanted to try it.

As they were leaving, Kaito got back to his feet, all smiles and charm, at the mother, who was still watching him warily. "Such a lovely daughter could have only have come from such a beautiful woman," he said, smoothly, producing another red rose and handing it to the blushing woman. "It was a pleasure to meet both of you." He winked down at the little girl, who giggled and nodded enthusiastically.

Shinichi forced his lips into a frown to keep from smiling in amusement himself. He shook his head and approached the desk. "One room, please," with all the air of someone saying, 'I don't know this idiot, why is he with me again?'

Akimoto blinked at him as if seeing him for the first time. It looked like it took a little effort to regain her professional attitude. Shinichi didn't blame her in the least. Kaito had that effect on people.

"How long do you intend to stay?" She asked, typing something into a computer that looked like it was the prehistoric age of technology.

If everything went smoothly? "One night."

She typed something else into her computer, and then stopped. "Oh dear."

"Is there a problem?" Shinichi was already preparing, should the need arise, to choose another hotel. It wouldn't be the first time just showing up had landed them at the mercies of the 'first-come-first-serve' system.

She shook her head, looking a little uncomfortable. "No, there is a single room available. One bed--"

Kaito bounded back over to Shinichi's side, throwing an arm around the other teens shoulders as he stated, "One bed isn't a problem."

Akimoto looked up at the sound of his voice, and she paused. She looked from one to the other, and Kaito knew she was coming to the conclusion that they were brothers. With private, wicked amusement, he wondered what she would do if he showed just how 'brotherly' the two boys really were. She seemed the type, if he was judging the new slightly pink tinge of her cheeks correctly, to be the type to secretly love that sort of thing.

As if sensing his thoughts (and he'd have to do something about that, couldn't have the detective reading him too easily), Shinichi gave him the 'Don't-Even-_Think_-About-It' glare. Kaito inwardly pouted. Shinichi never let him have any fun, some days.

Akimoto recovered from the small shock and made a few more strokes on the keyboard. She pulled a face. "Room 131 is the only room we have available. There's nothing wrong with it, but..."

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "What, did someone die in there?"

Shinichi elbowed him, hard. Kaito rubbed the spot, throwing him a dirty look.

Akimoto looked strained. "Actually, that's exactly what happened." She glanced around the room, warily, before adding in a hushed tone, "They say it haunted. No one ever takes the room anymore."

Kaito opened his mouth, completely ready to state that, with the kind of life he lead, ghosts would be refreshingly _normal_ and found himself asking, instead, "Shinichi?"

Under his arm, the detective's shoulders had tensed ever-so and his face had taken on a pallid complexion. Kaito blinked, incredulous. Surely, that wasn't because-- "You're not worried about it really being haunted, are you?"

The detective dealt with death all the time, surely he couldn't be scared of _ghosts_, could he? And if he was, how had he missed it? He could have had a blast last Halloween if he'd known.

Shinichi snorted. "Hardly." His blue eyes sharpened on Akimoto, his tone and expression clearly communicating his skepticism (Ah, there was the Shinichi he was used to). "That won't be a problem. We'll take it."

Akimoto stared from one to the other, before shrugging. Kaito was suspicious his and Shinichi's lack of reaction had disappointed her. "Alright, that will be 7875 yen."

Shinichi offered her a wad of bills from the hotel fund, and received the keys and change back in return. As Shinichi slipped out from under his arm, Kaito produced a rose from his seemingly endless stock, slipping it behind Akimoto's ear and smiling winningly at her. Unable to resist, he gave her a conspiring wink before turning on Shinichi.

And kissed him.

"K-Kaito?!" Shinichi sputtered. He took a step back, red faced, eyes flying to Akimoto. Kaito took a peak at her and was pleased to see she had turned the same shade of red as her rose. The detective looked from the dazed look on her face, then to Kaito, before he realized what had just happened. He glared, not quite able to look the other in the eye out of mortification.

"Oi, don't use me for your fan service!"

So, he had figured it out? Kaito really had to do something spontaneous then.

"But, Shinichi, you're too irresistible." Kaito leered at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Akimoto was quickly starting to seem embarrassed with her staring, and looked like she wanted to stop, but couldn't help herself. Kaito supposed he should tell her they weren't actually brothers and that wasn't really incest, especially when Shinichi started mumbling something about Kaito sleeping out in the car (in a tone that suggested that he'd rather _run_ Kaito over with the car), but it was just too much fun to tease them.

And it had been completely worth it to get them blushing. Being a showman was all about pleasing the fans, wasn't it?

-----

Room 131 was located on the second floor and even the door looked like it hadn't seen a real tenant in years. The hinges creaked, loud and ear splitting, as Shinichi opened the door. The detective paused in the door way, taking the room in with a quick sweep. Kaito thought he looked a little... relieved.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. Oi, oi, Shinichi wasn't _really_...?

He followed his partner in, frowning at the neglected room. There wasn't any dust, and the room didn't even smell stale, it just felt... exactly how a room would feel if no one but the cleaners passed through it. Kaito thought it was silly, thinking the room was haunted, but people had their phobias and he knew better than most that there were worst things to be afraid of than ghosts.

As Shinichi inspected the room further, Kaito made a bee-line for the air conditioner. The room was far too hot and opening the windows to the summer heat outside wasn't an option. The machine gave a shudder as the fans got going, but in minutes there was cool air wafting up from it and Kaito was on his way to heaven.

"I'm going to get my bag," Shinichi announced. He handed Kaito the second key, pocketing his own. He held his hand out, glaring at the air conditioner as he noted it was on.

Kaito just knew he was going to regret this. With a twist of the wrist he made the key reappear from ...somewhere. "Che, then I get the shower first."

Shinichi retrieved his keys with a smug air. He'd have to hide the keys to keep Kaito from hiding them from him later. It wouldn't help for long, but at least he might keep track of the keys for the first couple of hours that night. "Just don't use up all the hot water. I actually want to take a shower tonight."

Kaito waved himself as he headed for the bathroom. "Hm, like I would want a hot bath in this heat..."

He could hear Shinichi opening the door behind him. As he passed by the mirror, he thought he saw Shinichi pause in the door, a startled look on his face, but when he turned around, the door was closing and the detective was already out of sight.

Kaito sighed and stepped into the bathroom. He really hoped this wasn't going to turn into another murder case. If this kept up, he was going to need a vacation from his vacation...

tbc...

Next up: some (possibly hot) sex from our lovely pair and Shinichi does some investigating into the ghost haunting Room 131.


	3. Room 131

Author's note: _**WARNING: This chapter has sex between two guys. If this bothers you, don't read it or just skip it.**_

Chapter Three: _Room 131_

Kaito fell back against the bed, only mindful of the head board because he had already hit it once. The movement nearly pulled Shinichi's mouth off of him and he groaned as the detective misjudged the distance to compensate and Kaito could feel himself hitting the back of Shinichi's throat.

He tangled his fingers in his lover's hair and mindlessly tugged on it when Shinichi gave him a particularly slow, teasing lick just to make him whine. If he had the brain power, he would have wondered what the rest of the world would think if they knew just how wicked and sly a tongue the normally cool and collected detective really had. It still gave him a thrill that not even the pretty Mouri Ran knew and he, and only he, knew.

Kaito gasped, and tried to remember the thought that had crossed his mind before Shinichi's mouth had engulfed him. He tugged, insistently, meaning to say, "Shinichi--" although he might have only managed, "Mgh--." Shinichi 'hmm'ed as if he knew what he meant, and Kaito could have sworn he'd felt the shock of pleasure right down to his toes.

His eyes half lidded with pleasure, he looked down, and very nearly came right then and there. Shinichi was watching him with those blue, blue eyes of his, darkened with lust, and a grin on his lips looked like it should have belonged on Kaito's alter ego.

Oh, Gods.

He tugged harder, attempting to pull Shinichi off him, because, dammit, he wanted something. Needed-- "Inside," he moaned, because Shinichi came off grazing his teeth-- "Someone--" He wanted to feel one of them - either of them - inside the other, _now_.

Shinichi's laughter was soft and the sound deep and somewhere down in his chest. The teen made his way up his lover, soft kisses and nips and gods, since when had Shinichi been such a _tease_? He was completely happy to return the favor as their lips meet for a kiss (he could taste himself on the other teens mouth and it still felt like a victory), hands trailing down the detective's back, waist--

Kaito broke off the kiss, hissing, "_Pants_." Shinichi was still clothed from the waist down while Kaito was utterly naked and that just wouldn't do. Shinichi darted in for another kiss before slipping off the bed.

It shouldn't have been like watching a strip tease, but Shinichi somehow turned the mere task of slipping out of his slacks into an erotic experience. He was certain the other knew exactly the effect it had on him, with that grin still lurking at the corner of his lips, and Kaito couldn't resist pulling him down for another war with their tongues as Shinichi returned, finally naked and gripping a condom in one of his hands.

Shinichi broke off the kiss this time, and it took longer than usual for Kaito to interpret the intent frown on his lover's face. With slightly wide eyes, he followed the direction of the arm Shinichi wasn't bracing himself with and realized what he was doing.

Shinichi was preparing himself.

Kaito surged up, pulling Shinichi down flush against him, and swallowing the other's moan as their hard erections rubbed against each other, the friction electrifying. His hands ran along his lover's back, this time finding purpose in the distraction, and his hips jerked at the mere thought of what was to come.

Finally - too long, not long enough - Shinichi pulled his knees up and away, and Kaito made a high-pitched whine at the loss of warmth, to prop his hips up. Shinichi never broke the kiss as he brought the hand he'd been using to prepare himself back around him to help tear the condom package open. It was tossed to the side with an impatient air, to be retrieved later.

Kaito twitched as the cold lube brushed his erection, breath hitching against Shinichi's amused smirk, before hands were there, warming and spreading it. The latex followed, warm from heat of Shinichi's hand, and then Shinichi was straddling his hips and he was--

Oh. Gods.

Kaito said something that might have been a word, but his brain was too far gone to be sure. It took every ounce of control he'd ever possessed to simply lie there and not _move_ as Shinichi lowered himself inch by heated _inch_ onto him. His hands were tightly gripping the detectives pale hips and he was probably going to have bruises there, but Kaito couldn't _care_ at the moment. The torture of the slowness was beautiful and not enough, and by the time Shinichi was fully seated on him, they were both panting as if they'd run a marathon.

Kaito managed to pry his fingers free, running his hands down Shinichi's thighs, before running them back up, paying attention to the teens own leaking erection. Shinichi gasped, more a hiccup really, as Kaito took a moment to coax and tease him back to full arousal. He was holding onto patience by the edge of his teeth, but he could and would wait until Shinichi was ready.

And then Shinichi leaned forward, fingers trailing up Kaito chest to wrap lock around the back of his neck. In a low, husky whisper, breath brushing lightly on his cheek, Shinichi murmured, "Kaito, _fuck_ me."

The animalistic noise that tore through the air came from his own throat, but Kaito didn't hear it, could only focus on the detective above him and the lust coursing his veins and the single, individual idea that Kudo Shinichi wanted _him_.

Kaito growled, nipping at the ear just above his mouth, and when Shinichi rose and fell, Kaito met it with enough force to nearly dislodge the detective. Shinichi moaned, head thumping against his shoulder, nails digging into his lover's shoulders and oh, that was going to leave a mark in the morning.

As the pressure built, Shinichi seemed to recover enough to lean away and fall back on his heels. Kaito liked this new position, as it sent him deeper into his lover and he knew the exact moment, as he met the next thrust at just a slightly different angle, that he had hit _that spot_ when Shinichi _yelled_.

Kaito could feel himself reaching the edge and picked up the rhythm of his hand, the dance of their hips coming to match it. With each tremble, low keening-whimper, Kaito knew that Shinichi was almost there, too.

One of Shinichi's hands came to rest over his own, tightening, and Shinichi groaned, softly, and all he had to do was leer down at him.

The sight of him, flushed and slick with sweat, perched on him, and eyes nearly black with lust was more than enough to have him seeing _stars_ and send him tumbling over the edge into his climax.

Shinichi wasn't far behind him. His hand urged him to keep the rhythm they'd built, and with a last, forceful thrust of his hips, came as well, the warm stickiness coating Kaito's chest and the covers.

Shinichi slumped down, somehow having the mind not to fall on Kaito. With a little maneuvering, Kaito's softening member was free - he couldn't help the soft mournful hiss at the loss of heat. Both were struggling for breath, and a little voice nigged at him that they should clean up the mess now, before it dried, but he was warm and his arms were full of Shinichi and he really, really didn't want to move.

His lover murmured something, the slurred words lost on the skin of his neck and Shinichi settled in. Kaito was faintly suspicious it might have been about the clean up. But as Shinichi's breath evened out and his own eye lids drifted shut, he decided he would just worry about it in the morning when he had the energy and he didn't have a nice, warm body curled up around him.

Pulling the blanket up around them, Kaito followed Shinichi off into slumber.

-----

There was no way to sleep with that kind of knocking. Kaito opened an eye, just a slit, and glared at... the wall. Which was partly lit by the light creeping in under the curtains. Shinichi was already moving, lifting his head to glare at the door as if it were a murderer and he had just heard another pathetic sob story behind it.

Kaito was certain whoever was knocking on their door wasn't going to receive a decent reception (Shinichi wasn't much of a morning person, even on a good day), and he decided to take pity on the person or persons by saying, "I'll get it."

He really was too nice a person.

He grimaced at the dried mess on his belly. He had known he was going to regret that in the morning. He grunted, softly, and put it out of his mind for the moment. It was too early to be worrying about it.

They're cloths were slew around the room, a jumbled mess, and had landed where they would in their efforts to get them off. He grabbed the nearest pair of pants - his own - and a shirt - Shinichi's, the detective wouldn't mind. He made just the barest effort to make himself presentable (what had the person expecting, knocking this early?), before opening the door.

To an old lady, perhaps eighty, no more than eighty-five, peering at him from behind her thick rimmed glasses. Her thin lips are pressed into a frown and whatever she was expecting, Kaito was fairly certain he hadn't met it.

A charming smile crossed his face, and he bottled all his irritation away for later. "Good morning, Mrs." He had to stop himself from saying 'obasan.' He still has a vivid memory of Kudo Yukiko's reaction to the title and the little old lady might take even deeper offense. He noted she had a cane, even, and although she wouldn't be able to hit him with it, he didn't want to muster the energy it would take to dodge it. "What can I do for you?"

She eyed him critically. "There was screaming last night. Lots of it."

Kaito blinked at her. He looked at the wall to his left, the one in-between his and Shinichi's own and pondered for the first time how thin they could be. He couldn't help the amusement that bubbled up over the thought that he had made his lover scream loud enough to be heard quite clearly the night before.

The edge to his smile was only slightly exaggerated. "Yep."

"'Yep,'" she repeated with a small amount of displeasure. "Is that all you can say? For all we know you could have killed someone. There's already been one death in there, we don't need two."

Sure enough, in her irritation she attempted to poke him with her cane and Kaito dodged it with a simple step back. He didn't bother to stop his grin from turning feral, as he stated, with complete seriousness, "If I had killed someone, there wouldn't be any screaming." Not that he would ever kill anyone, but she had woken them up to scold them for being teenagers and maybe he was a little cranky.

She scowled, placing her cane back on the floor with a dull, metal _thunk_. She considered him, and he could see her take a sniff of the air. Her nose wrinkled. "You got a girl in there?"

Oh, it would have been too easy. Shinichi would have killed him for it, though. He was half tempted to do it just to see what the detective would do. Instead, he said, "Guy, actually."

She seemed to consider this. Kaito wondered just how old fashioned the woman was and how tolerant she was to the less ...traditional... couples. Finally, she nodded. "Just make sure he shouts your name in there sometimes so no one thinks you're murdering him."

Behind him, he could hear a soft, mortified groan and the rustle of sheets. Kaito didn't take his eyes off the old lady's to look, but he would have bet money Shinichi was attempting to become one with the mattress.

Kaito blinked at the woman, just a bit stunned. "...Yes, ma'am."

Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.

As she turned to leave, he added, voice properly contrite, "My deepest apologies for disturbing your rest, ma'am. I will endeavor to be more considerate to our neighbors in the future." He tried to remember if he still had that spare stash of roses in this pants and was pleased as his fingers found it. A rose effortlessly appeared in his hand as he bowed courtesiously to the woman and offered it to her. She raised an eyebrow, snorting softly and muttering, in a no nonsense tone, about shameless flirts.

It didn't stop her from taking the rose.

Kaito watched her go with an amused quirk of a grin, before making sure the 'Do Not Disturb' sign was still on the knob (for all the good it seemed to have done) and shutting the door.

Not bothering to slip his pants and stolen shirt off, he flopped down onto the bed, fully intent on getting at _least_ another two, possibly three, hours of sleep. Six o'clock really was an evil, evil time to wake someone up at. He rolled over to snuggle up to Shinichi only to find that part of the bed empty.

Kaito glared at the pillow as if it had betrayed him.

"You're getting up _now_?" he grumbled, eyeing his still very much naked lover as he gathered up some new, clean clothes. It was a nice view, he thought as Shinichi bent over his suitcase. The almost-tan skin looked darker in the absence of any real light and Kaito raised an eye brow as he spotted a rather telling red mark. Had he left one there? Shinichi would have a fit if he saw it, so Kaito left it alone and decided to keep it his little amusing secret.

"I got less sleep when I was Conan." Shinichi waved a hand in an off hand manner to go with the retort. He pulled a face at the dried mess slowly flaking off his skin. "Should have cleaned up."

Kaito snorted at the predictable comment and stubbornly buried himself into the pillows. "You have too much energy."

The smirk was audible even if he couldn't see it. "Maybe you should try harder next time."

That really did sound like an invitation and most certainly a challenge, his other head informed him, and Kaito was more than happy to try harder _right then_. Kaito mused just how to meet the detective's expectations. It was pretty clear he wasn't going to be getting any more sleep - he was too awake now - and a shower did sound like a good idea.

Kaito's grin was all teeth and hidden by the pillow. A shower together was an even better idea. He sat up, throwing the covers aside--

And then lay right back down, wrapping the same covers he'd just tossed aside tightly around himself. Wow, had it been that cold just a few minutes ago?

He turned over to look at the air conditioner. It was still on, humming away and just audible over the sound of start of the shower. He had set it for a lower number, lower than Shinichi probably appreciated, but he didn't remember setting it for this low. Maybe it was broken. He'd have to turn it off and speak to the front desk later.

First, though, he was going to warm up a bit. It was so cold he could even see his _breath_...

-----

Shinichi turned the shower nozzles until the delightfully hot water cut off. It felt good to be clean, and he felt awake enough that he would be able to survive until he could get his real wake up call: a cup of coffee served straight from the pot.

Snagging the towel from where he'd hung it over the shower rack, Shinichi hung it around his hips and pulled the curtain back.

It really was a testimony to just how used he was to Kaito sneaking up on him that it didn't faze him in the least to come face-to-face with a dead man on the other side of the curtain. The first time that had happened, not only had he screamed at the top of his lungs, but it had given his nightmares all new ways to torment him. Now... nothing. He wondered if he should be thanking the magician or looking for the first opportunity to strangle him.

Shinichi stared at the ghost. The chill was starting to freeze the droplets of water rolling down his skin and he shuddered.

The ghost stared at Shinichi. Shinichi was glad that he had yet to be leered at by a ghost and this one didn't seem like it wanted to be the first.

Without so much as batting an eye lash, Shinichi reached over, reclaimed his clothing, and yanked the shower curtain shut.

When he pulled it back, dried off and fully clothed sans his socks, the ghost was gone. He noted he couldn't see his breath anymore - it had been gone only minutes. Curious to see if it was still at least in the hotel room, Shinichi quickly gathered up his dirty clothing and deposited them in the bag he had commandeered for them, before stepping out into the main room.

The chill was stronger out here, and sure enough, it didn't take long to spot the ghost. It was standing over by the nightstand, seeming to hover over the spot like it wanted him to pay attention to it.

If Shinichi were a gambling man, he would have bet that's where the man had died. The hideous gaping hole in the back of the man's head left nothing to the imagination either.

There was a rustle cloth from the bed as the lump under the covers shifted. Although his voice was muffled, Shinichi could hear the mock-whimper in Kaito's voice, "Shiiiniiichiii..."

Shinichi gave the lump a deadpan look. "What do you want, Kaito?"

"So mean." A hand appeared and pointed in the direction Shinichi assumed Kaito thought the air conditioner was. "That _thing_ is malfunctioning. Please turn it off?"

Shinichi didn't look at the ghost standing three feet from the bed. Instead, he smirked. "The great Kaitou Kid, taken down by an air conditioner. What would your fans think?" Despite his teasing, he still went over to turn it off, for all the good it would do while the ghost was still in the room.

The single visible limb was all that was needed to give Kaito's opinion of the comment. Or rather, a single finger was.

Shinichi ignored the moody magician. Instead he watched the ghostly man make his way across the room. It was always strange to watch the ones that took their time, like this one. It seemed to glide across the room, as if the floor were a conveyer belt, moving just for it.

The ghost met his gaze as it paused by the door. It's eyes said what they all said: 'follow me.' Never a command, but it might as well have been. Shinichi was going to follow it regardless.

The ghost, perhaps seeing this, seemed amused and passed through the door.

The moment it was gone, Shinichi murmured, "The room should start warming up soon." As if he needed to say it. The air conditioner's motor had already died off and fallen silent, even before the ghost had left the room. More than likely, Kaito would probably think he was just being overly obvious. It wouldn't be the first time.

There was a muffled cheer behind him. Shinichi snorted and rolled his eyes, pausing as he reached for the door knob. "That restaurant you wanted to visit - Kotobuki - is in this town, isn't it?"

Kaito had a list of places he would have liked to eat, made especially for this trip, of all things. Of the list, they had managed to hit seven of them. If Kotobuki was indeed in the little town up the road, this would be eight.

"Mm, yes it is." Shinichi noted that Kaito's voice was no longer obstructed by anything and turned to see the teen-magician emerging from his little cocoon. Kaito gave him an amused look. "Why, do you want to go on a date?"

Shinichi snorted. "Hardly. It would just make a convenient place to meet up, say around..." He checked his watch. The minute hand had almost made a full circle and it was nearing seven. "Five o'clock?"

Kaito shook his head in a commiserating manner. "You're going to spend the entire day doing detective work." He paused, seeming to consider something. He tilted his head to the side, and Shinichi could see his lips moving to soundlessly say, "Red? Or maybe green? Green with black?"

Shinichi raised an eye brow. "And if I am?" He was hardly going to deny it. He narrowed his eyes as Kaito shifted from one foot to the other and then gave a flick of the wrist. Shinichi was deeply suspicious the magician was about to pull a magic trick, although he couldn't fathom why.

The magician indeed made something appear. With a second flick of the wrist and a small poof a smoke a Green shirt with black trimmings here and there appeared from where ever Kaito had it stashed. "It is a shame," he muttered. "It is a nice day for exploring."

Shinichi watched every move the other boy made. This was not the first time he had seen Kaito pull his cloths out of thin air. He _knew_ Kaito didn't have them in his cloths (he'd checked one morning, while Kaito was still asleep. He'd found everything he would have expected - and even something he hadn't - but he hadn't found a clothing stash), so where else could he be hiding them? "It doesn't mean I'll spend all day investigating."

Kaito scoffed and made a pair of khaki's appear in his other hand. "I know that look. By the end of the day you're going to know everyone's name, how they were involved, and even what color their underwear is." Kaito sighed and made a 'nothing for it' gesture with his hands, the clothing flopping in amusing way as he did so. "Really, you're like a bloodhound with it's favorite chew toy when you find yourself a good mystery."

Shinichi didn't huff, per se, but it was close. Besides, why take offense from something that was technically true and he thoroughly enjoyed doing? "Five o'clock?" he asked, again, as if the previous few minutes and the conversation in them had never happened.

Kaito moved his khakis to the hand holding the shirt and made a pair of boxers and socks appear. He looked over the assortment, nodded, and then grinned up at Shinichi. "Of course, like I'd miss a date with my favorite detective."

His favorite detective muttered something not-so-kind about his 'favorite thief' and proceeded to head out the door.

The Ghost of Room 131 was waiting for him. Like a magnet, it drew his attention to where it was standing. He looked beyond it, noting that it appeared to want him to follow it in the direction of the front office. Shinichi almost laughed. Instead, he stuffed his hands in his pocket and headed out for the main rood that lead into town. If the ghost thought that he was going to do anything before he got some coffee in him, it was poorly mistaken. Nothing short of a murder happening right there, right then, was going to stop him.

The main road, the same one he and Kaito had been on just the afternoon before, was an old road. It was aged along with everything else there. Shinichi occasionally had to side step mild pot holes, but he noticed that he didn't have to concern himself with a passing car even once on the ten minute walk.

Hananomachi was a fairly old little town, full of old buildings and interconnected by dirt roads situated in the middle of the mountains. The town got its name, according to the website Shinichi had browsed when looking for interesting stops to make, from the large varieties of flowers that bloomed around the town's border. Shinichi had found little interest in the actual attractions - the flowers; the legends - but it seemed like a nice, quite little town that would make for a great pit stop if needed be. It didn't hurt any that they had one of only a handful of the Kotobuki's this side of Japan.

Shinichi could see someone had tended to the 'entrance' recently. Blue and white hydrangea were in full bloom and covered either side of the road for at least ten feet before tampering off into other types of types of flowers indigenous to this part of Japan. The flowers were especially grouped around a little sign proclaiming the entrance to the town.

The houses were the next thing to come into view as he rounded the last bend in the road and officially entered Hananomachi. The old buildings stood proud and bunched together, looking like something straight out of old documentary movies about the Meiji era and even earlier. Various modern buildings and contraptions were the only thing that kept Shinichi from feeling like he had walked right into another time period.

One of those modern buildings was a gas station settled along Hananomachi sole paved road. Shinichi made a bee line for it, keeping one eye on the buildings and another on the look out for any cars. He only spared part of his attention for his 'shadow,' who followed diligently behind him.

There was no one standing out by the pumps. It was either too early for any of the employees to start waiting for customers or this was a self service. Shinichi would have bet, from the lack of investment the town had made in the tourist business, that it was most likely self served whenever it saw company. This was further supported by the lone cashier waiting behind the register as he enter the chilled interior.

"Ohayo gozimasu."

He nodded half heartedly in response to the greeting, adding a little wave as he went straight for the coffee pot sitting like a shining beckon of light and goodness off to the left. There was a soft snort from the direction of the front, and Shinichi got the impression this wasn't the first time a passer through had done such.

As he took the first, scolding sip, he finally thought that he might actually be able to make it through the day. He thought he could almost feel the caffeine hitting his system as the heat of the liquid hit his stomach. Feeling considerably better and with half the cup down his throat, he was more than happy to return the cashier's earlier greeting.

"Not much of a morning person, no?" The cashier, a young man not much older than Shinichi, said in an amused, sympathetic tone that suggested that he completely understood.

Shinichi made a noncommittable noise around another sip of his precious coffee.

Before the slightly older man could make another attempt at a conversation, a voice floated through the back room, calling, "Keiji, where did you put crème?" There was an audible scowl, followed shortly by, "I've told you time and again to keep this place organized - is this what you put Kimiko-chan through at home?"

Shinichi froze, completely blocking out the cashier's - Keiji's - response as the familiar voice trickled in through his caffeine-induced euphoria and brought back to reality better than any bucket of ice-cold water. He recognized that voice. But, it _couldn't_ be...

An elderly woman stuck her head out of the back room, face stern and ready for a lecture, when she caught sight of Shinichi, who was staring at her wide-eyed from over the rim of his mostly forgotten coffee cup. She blinked at him, looking curious to see him and Shinichi theorized she more than likely thought he was Kaito.

Previous task completely forgotten, the woman made her way with a grace that spoke of hard work and determination not to let her cane slow her down. Shinichi would have bet money that she more than likely took the cane the moment she had been told she needed it, but she hadn't for a moment stopped doing what she loved before. It was admirable.

It still didn't stop the horribly bad feeling he was getting about how this was going to go.

She came to a stop in front of him, her pale, grey-blue eyes looking him up and down. She seemed to be expecting something from him - or maybe just expecting to find something - and wasn't finding it. She raised an eyebrow at him. "Egotistical, little brat, that boy is." She was stating a fact, not presenting a question and it didn't take long for Shinichi to realize that she was referring to Kaito.

So, she had figured it out? The teenage detective allowed her another grudging point for perception.

Shinichi took a sip of the coffee to hide his amusement. The lady had no clue just how right she was, although he couldn't fathom what had brought her to that conclusion.

The woman leaned on her cane with a considering air. "Hm, so you must be the one that was hollering last night."

Shinichi choked, fumbling with the cup and nearly splashing the scolding liquid all over the woman. As it was, a small portion did wind up on the floor, where it would be forgotten until much later that night when the night shift cleaned it up. The teen coughed, hastily setting the cup down on the counter before he lost the rest of his beloved drink. Not that he felt he needed it very much anymore. That had been more than enough to wake him up.

The cashier was gaping at the woman, completely scandalized. "Geda-baasan!"

The woman snorted. "Ghost hunters," was all she said. And from that tone, it really was all she needed to say. She obviously didn't think to kindly of the people.

Shinichi could see that she was getting the wrong impression, and he would have been all to happy to set the record straight - just as soon as he could breath without trying to cough up his lungs. Taking a deep, clean breath, he was pleased when he didn't feel the need to cough again. When he still didn't cough, he stated, "We're not ghost hunters." Hell, he didn't even _like_ ghosts.

The old woman looked skeptical. "And you just happened to wind up in Room 131."

Shinichi raised his chin slightly, pulling his battered dignity around him like a cloak. "It was the only room left." He shrugged. His curiosity with the man's murder had absolutely nothing to do with wanting to prove the existence of ghosts or getting the thrill of finding them.

She made another murmured 'hmm', and was watching him with that expecting air again. He had the impression she thought he was a particularly slow puppy - or at the very least, a rather dishonest-with-himself one. Shinichi sighed as he realized that she was completely right in what she was expecting, even if it wasn't for the right reasons.

"What happened in Room 131?" There, he asked, and he was going to finish his cup of coffee and not another drop was going to be wasted.

The woman nodded, ignoring the cashier's continued protests. The woman made her way to the wall closest to the register without going behind it. Bringing her cane up, she rapped the end against the glass gently. "This is Matashiro Katanori."

Shinichi came to stand at her side, taking in the black and white face of the man in the photo. It wasn't the man who was haunting Room 131. Glancing at her, he let her know that she had his attention and that he'd like for her to go on.

She set her cane on the ground, eyes still focused on the photo. "He was a police officer in the 1870s, one of the first in this area when they branched out this far. He did a lot of good for this town, if the history books are to be trusted."

It didn't take very much to deduce she didn't think very highly of written history. He wondered what event she might have been old enough to have witnessed and her own personal view on it - and how history was going to view it.

She continued on, voice still somewhere between admiring and scornful. "Intelligent, too, but he was a fool to have allowed that man to darken his reputation."

Shinichi could see where this was going. Studying the man on the wall anew, he added, "He's killed a man in Room 131."

The woman made a disgusted note. "I've read the newspaper report - or what's left of it - when I was a little girl. Matashiro-san found his wife, Arina, with another man." She gave him a sidelong glance. "He murdered them both."

Shinichi, without ever taking his eyes off the picture, thought back to the hotel room, trying to remember if he had seen a second ghost. The room had only felt occupied in passing, when he and Kaito had first walked into it the afternoon before. He hadn't even been sure there had been a ghost until he'd seen it while going to get his stuff from the car. He had only seen the male ghost - Arina's lover - but not Arina herself. If she was still walking the earth, she wasn't doing it in Room 131.

"When did people start saying the room was haunted?" He turned his attention from the picture and looked to the ones on either side of it. They were all old photos, some of them just paintings, of people from the mid 1800s to modern day. If Matashiro's picture (and, ah, yes, there was Sadamasa Kagami, the man responsible for putting Hananomachi on Japan's radar) was anything to go by, these were pictures of influential people to the town.

The old woman huffed. "About the time the hotel was taken over by the current management. In 1940, the Akimoto family bought it and renovated it." She shook her head, as if she thought it was all just nonsense. "Outsiders started wandering in more frequently, and next thing any of us know, everyone wants to see the ghost. As if ghosts are the interesting thing Hana has to offer."

Shinichi glanced at her. She looked highly insulted, and more than a little affronted by the publicity that one little room had brought Hananomachi. He almost felt bad for his next question. Almost. "Where do they have a copy of the newspaper clipping?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, suspiciously. "Most of the older newspaper collections were lost in a fire in 1915, but the library has what left of them. You can find it by looking at the town map just down the street."

Shinichi couldn't help the mildly amused tug at his lips. He was certain she knew exactly where the library was, and could more than likely give detailed directions to it, but by telling him to look at the map, she was basically rubbing in her displeasure with this investigation. He got the feeling it was the politest way she was going to tell him such.

Knowing the conversation was through, Shinichi bid both goodbye, and headed out the door. There was still no one to be seen in the lot, but as a quick look at his watch (it was only nearing 8 o'clock, on a road hardly anyone seemed to use) this was a little surprising, but not terribly so.

The Ghost of Room 131 was waiting for him, as it had done earlier back at the hotel with Kaito. Shinichi noted, a little belatedly (he blamed it on his morning caffeine deprived stupor), that the ghost hadn't entered the gas station. He blinked at it, wondering if it couldn't enter buildings, with the exception of Room 131, or something. Some stories (although he had yet to encounter such a case) held that ghosts had limitations.

Either that, or the ghost simply didn't care for the gas station.

Shrugging, Shinichi started off down the street to the aforementioned town map. It was old fashioned, barely anything written on there but the basics, but it was more than enough. It was done like a bus route, outlining the major 'road' through the town and the most important buildings along the way.

He trekked the route, committing it to memory. One street, two, three - there was a school; only one (was it all grades?) - four, five - a hospital - six, seven, eight... There it was. Ryuokishio Library. He looked the map over one more time, and then started out.

Shinichi stepped off the main road, heading off onto Hana's major road. It was barely a road at all, more like gravel and dirt and not quite pavement. Shinichi could feel every rock poking at his feet through the heels of his shoes and he was glad he had packed the hiking boots for this trip rather than his usual sneakers.

There were a few people out and about. They looked up as he passed, curious faces watching him intently from behind shadowed gazes. He wondered what they thought he was there for. There were apparently a few people that recognized him, though. He could hear a group of teenagers, a few years his junior and still in high school, whispering his name as he passed. He smiled at them, and they giggled (the girls) and snorted (the boy), but when they didn't approach him, he didn't stop.

The smile stayed on his face, even if it was subdued to a quirk of the lips. Being known even as far out here was like a small stroke to his ego, enough to flare the abused thing into some semblance of activity. Encountering Gin, becoming Conan, and allowing Mouri Kogoro to have his spotlight hadn't killed his ego, but it had certainly done it a great deal of damage. Now every whisper, every giggle was like a kick start. He liked to think that it was no where near where it had been, nor would it ever be again.

Besides, Kaito had a big enough ego for both of them.

He looked over to find himself passing the hospital, and then quickly turned away. He hadn't seen anything in its windows nor its roof nor, thank the gods, its yard. He could feel the Ghost of Room 131 behind him and the last thing he needed was for more spirits to notice him. He was _not_ a medium, nor would he ever become one.

He picked up his pace, resisting the urge to break out into a run; the feel of _their_ presence just behind him like a wall.

It was a relief when he reached the library, some twenty minutes and three streets later. The sound of the door closing behind him shouldn't have felt like walking into a sanctuary, but he couldn't stop the sigh of relief. He blinked when he noticed his breath, and a glance to his left affirmed that the ghost had followed him into the library. He raised an eye brow at it, before shrugging and deciding he wasn't going to attempt to try and figure out this ghost's quirks.

The librarian was exactly what you would expect from a town like this. A elder woman, not too late in life, but most certainly well past her prime. She looked up at him as he entertained and there was a flash of... something, in her eyes. He might have called it relief. Looking around, taking in even the complete lack of any noise other than the sounds of the machines doing their job to keep the building running, he would have been willing to bet money that they were the only two people, with the exception of whatever staff there was, in the building.

"I'm looking for the newspaper achieves." He winced as even the sound of his whisper sounded horribly loud in the silence.

The woman pursed her lips, the simple shift of her head causing her silver jewelry to clink softly. It was almost as loud as his whisper. She lifted a hand, the skin already turning pale and transparent against her veins, and pointed towards the far left corner of the room. "Along the back wall."

Shinichi murmured a thank you, stepping away from the desk. Just before he was completely out of earshot, he thought he heard the woman complaining that the air conditioner was acting up again. He shook his head and put it out of his mind.

The newspaper achieve was huge. Each page carefully collected and bound in books by year, publisher, and numbered in succession from there. He ignored most of the newer books, searching out the ones from the 1870s. He wished the woman had given him more information on an exact date or even a publisher, but if she had read it as a little girl there was little hope she would remember. He sighed softly, deciding to start from 1874 and work his way up from there. If she had misjudged the time, perhaps a little later, little earlier, he'd just have to work from there.

The woman, Geda-obaasan, had been right about some of the papers having been lost. He found mention of a fire in 1879, when he misjudged how far he was along. He'd glanced over it - fire started mysteriously on the other side of the building and although it had been subdued, a good portion of the libraries books had been lost - but hadn't paid it too much attention. He took the book and used it as a place marker to remind himself if he went too far again.

It took two more publishers and quite a few more books, but he finally found it under Kinoshi Publishing, 1878. Triumph lit a grin on his face and he had to remind himself to be careful with the other books as he quickly tried to clear a spot for the book. He was a little disappointed portions of it was burned away - the ending was completely gone - but most of it...

October 25, 1878, journalists received word that Matashiro Katanori had been arrested on two counts of voluntary manslaughter by two of his deputies early that morning. The victims - [the names were burned out] - were dead on arrival of a single gunshot to - [where they took the shot was also lost] - and Matashiro Katanori admitted guilty to all charges. The news of how his sentence was carried out was burned away, but it did get in a mention that Arina had left a twelve year old son, Tomo, and a ten year old daughter, Sakura, behind.

Shinichi gave the articles immediately after a look over as well, hoping to find some more information, but Matashiro seemed to have been forgotten for the more popular topic of the time, which was the mysterious halt of a serial killer who had missed his usually six month mark. The man had apparently killed twelve women and then just... stopped. No word, no clue... nothing.

Shinichi shook his head and pushed the book away, rubbing at his eyes as he stretched. He could feel each bone in his back as he stretched and he sighed softly as a creak he hadn't realized had formed in his neck worked itself out.

That had been both helpful and not helpful. Mostly not. It had just filled in a few bits of information that Geda hadn't provided to him already. He still didn't even know his ghostly stalker's name.

He brought his hand up to his lips, biting on one of the knuckles as he pondered what to do next. He could just leave it there. This ghost was hardly his responsibility and it was the crime was over 140 year old. The ghost's killer had been caught, and more than likely persecuted, so what more was there to be solved in this case?

He looked over to where the ghost was hovering near the window, watching something outside. What could possibly be this ghost's reason for continuing to roam the earth?

Perhaps that's why he couldn't bring himself to leave this alone. He wanted to know just why this ghost lingered. It was kind of silly, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true.

There was still the crux of the lack of information. It wasn't in the newspapers, but maybe... It was a long shot, but just maybe...

His stomach growling broke him out of his daze and he dropped his hand to look at his watch. And then balked. Was it really half-past 12? He had been in here researching for almost four hours! He shook his head at himself. He'd have to stop by somewhere while on the way to his next and possibly final lead to pick something up to eat. Kaito would have his head if he forgot to eat again in favor of investigating.

Books carefully put back away the way he found them, he headed up to the front desk. The woman was still there, sitting exactly where he'd left her and he wondered if she had ever left. She looked up as he approached and she blinked at him, more than likely surprised to see him still there. She took in his dusty clothes and lack of any books and 'hmm'ed softly to herself.

Shinichi paused in front of her desk, pondering how to ask his question. He didn't know for sure if she would know, but with little towns like these, there was a good chance she might. "I'm trying to find out if the Matashiro family still lives in Hana."

She squinted at him. It wasn't a narrowing of the eyes, there was no frown in her brow. He could see her glasses hanging around her neck and although they looked rather thick, he was surprised she didn't reach for them. She 'hmm'ed at him again. "Matashiro." She drawled the name out, tasting it as if it were a flavor she hadn't had since childhood. "Haven't heard that name in a long time. Why would you want to know it, boy?"

Shinichi let the mistake of his age slide. He had long since stopped caring if someone thought him incompetent because of his youth. It may make things a little harder, but it was something he could work around. "I'm doing research. Most of the information was lost because of a fire."

She raised an eyebrow at him, skeptically. He didn't know how often someone asked her about the Matashiro family in relation to ghosts, could only guess if that's what she was figuring he was doing. She answered him regardless. "Matashiro Tomo was the last to carry the name. Matashiro Sakura's name changed when she married into the Akimoto family."

Privately, to himself, Shinichi acknowledged that she did indeed know, or suspect, why he was asking. It was too remote a chance that she would know that much information about the subject off hand. He was curious why she would give out that much information about a family, that she had to know he might go and question--

Wait. The Akimoto family. The Akimoto owned the Sweet Tart Hotel and the young desk clerk's family name had been Akimoto. Akimoto-san who had been disappointed he and Kaito hadn't wanted to hear the story of Room 131. The answer had quite possibly been there the whole time and he had almost missed it completely!

He looked at his watch. It wasn't even one o'clock yet. More than enough time to get back to the hotel, question Akimoto, and meet up with Kaito at five. Hell, he might even have enough time to look around a little before arriving early for a change. He'd have something other than the ghost to talk about and heavens knew he rarely arrived anywhere early these days.

He threw the woman a distracted thanks and good bye over his shoulder, not really paying attention as she muttered about manners and a continence of her earlier complaint about the air conditioning.

The trip back to the hotel took a lot less time, even with his having to dodge the rising mass of people on the streets. Even his shadow seemed to feel his slight rise in excitement over this possible lead, hoving just a little too closely for Shinichi's general comfort, but it was something he had already grown to ignore.

There was a mild problem with his plan, Shinichi mused as he stepped onto the main road, just ten minutes from his goal. If Akimoto was off, there was a good chance he'd miss her. He really didn't care to remain in Hana or at the hotel another night, just to investigate (not to mention that Kaito would never let him live it down) a hundred-plus old murder. He supposed he could go back again after dinner, but Kaito would be with him and he'd know that he had been right, and Shinichi already knew how that would go over.

His fears were unfounded. As he entertained the main office, Akimoto was sitting behind her desk, typing away at the computer. She didn't have a customer with her this time, and a quick glance around showed he was the only one in the room with her. She looked up as he came in, her eyebrows shooting up and an amused smile crossing her lips. Shinichi noted that she had done her hair up around that rose Kaito had given her. He'd have to bring the magician down to see it, Shinichi knew he'd find it amusing.

"Why, hello, there Kudo-san," Akimoto greeted him. She looked behind him, almost looking disappointed when she didn't see anyone else. She turned her attention back to him. "Come down to sign out?"

Shinichi had his room key in his pocket. Kaito still had his. There was a chance Kaito had cleaned out, but just to be sure... "Not just yet." When she tilted her head to the side, he added, "You wanted to tell us about Room 131?"

Akimoto lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, what made you change your mind?"

"Curiosity."

She grinned and then nodded. "It is fascinating." She pushed her keyboard to the side to make room for her elbows, which she propped up on the desk. "So, what do you want to hear?"

Shinichi thought that if she asked, she'd sing for him like a lark. He decided to cut to the chase. "You're descended from Matashiro Katanori, right?"

She made an impressed noise. "You did your homework." She snorted, the noise sounding like it was more to herself and the thought. "Then again, I'd expect no less from the 'Great Detective of the East,' Kudo Shinichi."

She hadn't known him yesterday. Not even the slightest reaction, so... "You looked me up."

She nodded. "Thought I'd heard your name before. No disrespect, but detective work isn't my thing."

He shrugged, taking none. He put his hands in his pocket. "Do you know anything that wasn't in the papers?"

She made an affirmative note. "You looked at that thing." She made her look around again, before leaning forward. "According to the way my dad told it to me, Katanori was the head honcho back then, top of the top. He had a lot kept out of the papers, including the name of the guy he killed."

Shinichi nodded. Behind him, he could feel the ghost entering the room. It almost seemed... pleased, if he was interpreting that look in the reflection off the glass behind Akimoto correctly. He watched as the ghost moved further into room, pulling the heat from the air as it moved deeper in. He could already feel the goose bumps on his arms, how long before Akimoto noticed?

Akimoto reached up and fixed her flower a little as she continued. "Dad said his name was Kawaguchi Ishimaru, didn't do much around the town, but he was known for being a charmer. It was apparently all over the town that he was having affairs like most people change their clothing." She pointed a finger at him. She was about to drop something she felt was important, "There was even a rumor that he had been with some of those--"

She broke off looking around. "Is it really cold in here, or is it just me?"

Shinichi had been trying to ignoring his own shivering. He opened his mouth to say something, when abruptly, something - not heavy enough to be solid body, more like a heavy wind - collided with his back, and pain flared in his head like someone had just hit him with a hard, sharp edged object.

An alarm blared off in his mind, flashing images of black trench coats, the feel of wet grass and the sick slick of something forced down his throat while another part railed against how he hadn't seen anyone - and he should have, the glass was reflecting just about everything - coming up behind him.

As he dropped to the floor, the only thing going through his mind was the fear for Akimoto and the regret that he wouldn't be making it to that dinner on time after all.

And then, there was nothing.

-tbc

And there's another chapter done. Hope you liked the pr0n, I'm told it wasn't total waste. XD

Next chapter: Shinichi finds a dead body (big surprise) and gets a shock when he finds out who the killer is.


	4. The Murder of Akimoto Haruko

Author's Note: Dedicated to Koorii, Sama, and Spell, for putting up with my ideas and helping me get through the chapter.

-----

Chapter Four  
_The Murder of Akimoto Haruko_

_-----_

It was 9:24PM and Shinichi was officially four hours and twenty-four minutes late.

Kaito sat perched on the highest building Hananomachi had to offer - the school's roof - and peered out into the night. Nestled against his face was a pair of night vision binoculars, the very same he'd used as Kaitou Kid, his mind split between two tasks: searching the town, and running over the information he had gathered over the last hour.

When he had arrived at the restaurant, right on time, he had known there was a chance Shinichi wasn't going to show on time. Shinichi was a detective right down to the bone and once he got going, he completely lost track of time to solve his mystery. Not to mention he had a ridiculous penchant for finding murders.

Kaito had spent the first half hour amusing himself with listening to the excited chatter of the staff (apparently someone had proposed to his girlfriend earlier that day) and pondering what Shinichi's latest mystery could be. It was more than likely the one that clerk, Akimoto-san, had talked about. To Kaito's knowledge, Shinichi had no other reason to go running around Hananomachi looking into seemingly random murder mysteries, and he hadn't appeared to have one before the afternoon before.

Still, Kaito had thought as he chewed on an egg roll he had ordered from the appetizer menu when it had become apparent that Shinichi would be late, the detective had been taking on cases right and left lately. This was supposed to be their vacation and already they had been thrown into three murder cases just traveling up here. Did Shinichi really want to tackle another one?

He'd have to talk to Shinichi about obsessions, when - not if; never, never if - he found him.

He had amused himself by ordering dinner around the twelfth time the waitress had come around asking - Shinichi was over an hour late then - contending that Shinichi would just have to eat what he ordered him and it was his fault for being late.

When two hours had rolled around, Kaito had waited just another thirty more minutes, just in case (it really wasn't the first time that Shinichi had been really, really late), before he was out the door, food paid for out of his portion of the vacation money and the detectives portion of dinner in a take-out box.

The first place he had gone was the police station. If Shinichi had stumbled across a murder, there would be talk of it. All that meet his inquiry, however, was a mostly silent station and his worry had started gnawing viciously at his stomach. All the officers had seemed interested in talking about was how it was nice, quiet night and how there seemed to be a rainstorm coming in from the north and maybe they'd get rain tomorrow. It hadn't rained in weeks.

Kaito had left a few listening devices here and there, easy to retrieve and in places it was highly unlikely anyone would notice even if they were looking for them. He was currently listening to two officers chatter on about one of their coworkers, a Miyoshi-keiji, who was apparently a very fine looking woman they both had set their eyes on.

Kaito snorted softly to himself and wondered if there was anything new on the channel because if he had wanted this kind of drama, all he had to do was listen to Shinichi's officers. Although he was fairly certain that Takagi-keiji had actually gotten around to giving Satou-keiji that ring, now that he thought about it.

The last place he had gone, before winding up on the school's roof was back to the hotel. It was a remote chance that Shinichi had over slept, he had been hoping it with all his heart at that point, and it had nearly felt like a physical blow when he found the room empty. The air had been stifling hot, the air conditioner still off from that morning, and it was obvious no one had been in the room since he himself had left.

He had gnawed on his lower lip, as he went to the front desk, the only sign of the growing panic sitting just beneath the surface. There had been two desk clerks behind the desk when he'd arrived at the front office and neither of them had seen the detective. When he'd asked to see someone who might have that conversation had only made things worse, in his opinion.

"Who was here for most of the day?" Kaito asked impatiently. They were hiding something and he wasn't above dirty tactics to get the information he wanted.

The two had looked at each other, genuine worry at various levels in their brows, before the younger female - the older male's little sister, if Kaito wasn't mistaken - turned to Kaito and said, "Haruko was the clerk until seven this evening." She had looked up at the male, who was scowling at her. "When we arrived to take over the shift, she was gone."

Kaito had blinked at that, a little incredulous. "And you don't find that strange?"

The older male had crossed his arms, his body language clearly stating he thought it was none of Kaito's business. "This isn't the first time she's run off without waiting to be relieved. Kuchiki-ojisama should have never let her into this business. It's only because she's Masayo-obasama's favorite that she gets away it."

"Kore-kun..." the woman murmured, sounded tired. She had obviously heard this complaint before. Many times.

The man 'hmph'ed and waved him off. He clearly thought the discussion was over. "If you find Haruko, you can ask her."

Kaito really hadn't felt the least bit of guilt about leaving a nice little present for the man to find later on. Nor did he think it petty in the slightest.

So, having dead ended again, Kaito had set out to look over the town to try and find other clues as to the missing Kudo Shinichi, and possibly even the wayward Akimoto Haruko. He didn't know how likely it was they were together, but it gnawed at his gut that their mutual disappearances could be linked. How, he wasn't sure, but it never once occurred to him that either, or both of them, could be laying dead somewhere and it was just a matter or time before they found their bodies.

Akimoto-san shouldn't have had any reason to attack Shinichi, and Shinichi certainly wasn't going to attack Akimoto-san. The detective may have been acting strange lately - running off, knowing things he didn't have any logical reason to know - but he hadn't shown any signs of volatile behavior and Kaito was going to continue to think that Shinichi wasn't capable of murder until Shinichi himself personally murdered someone in front of him. There was the possibility that they had both been attacked, but he couldn't think of a single motive for doing so.

Kaito ran a hand through his hair, bringing the binoculars down to sit in his lap. Detective work really wasn't his thing. There were so many reasons why he happily stepped back and let his lover handle the cases, and it wasn't all just because Shinichi was one of the best. Sure, Kaito liked to fancy himself a treasure hunter, and that was it's own brand of detective work, he supposed, but trying to figure out people's motives and when they were likely to kill... He just couldn't do it.

Not to mention he was only one person, and there was no possible way even he could search all of the town in any reasonable amount of time. It just wasn't possible and if one - or both - were in trouble, time was of the essence. This left him with only one other option: flat out going to the police and reporting Shinichi's disappearance. Question was, did he have enough evidence of foul play to get them to listen? Kaito grinned, the expression lacking anything resembling humor and had a more than a hint of something dangerous.

If he, the former Kaitou Kid, couldn't get the police to dance for him, he'd be ashamed of himself.

Mind set on his new task, Kaito stashed his binoculars back on his person and set out to rally up some very bored police officers. They needed the entertainment anyway.

-----

Returning to consciousness was a bit like finding one's way out of the covers after one had become entangled in them. Sleep clung tight to his senses, and Shinichi nearly gave into the urge to sink right back down into it. Dulled urgency, feeling old and familiar somehow, urged him back to awareness and Shinichi gave in with only a minor bit of reluctance.

He was outside, was the first thought to filter into his addled mind, still thick with the cobwebs of sleep. He could hear the chirping of birds and could even feel cool grass brushing up against his skin. This was very odd, he thought to himself. Why was he outside?

He struggled to remember what the last thing he remembered was, and he really hoped Kaito hadn't gone and gotten him drunk again or something. The last time this had happened they had somehow wound up at a gambling establishment, where he had won a few million yen. When asked about this afterwards, he had been told, by a slightly disturbed Heiji, that he was apparently very, very good at pontoon. He still found this somewhat amusing, because he had never in his life played the game and where in Japan had they found a gambling establishment that played an Australian version of Spanish 21?

He had never gotten out of Heiji - or Hakuba for that matter - where exactly the traffic cone that had appeared in his and Kaito's living room the next morning had come from though, nor why there was a real live flamingo standing beside it. Kaito hadn't been of much help there either, not having remembered a thing and laughing his fool head off over it. He'd even suggested naming the thing George and keeping it as a pet.

Shinichi's sleep fogged brain finally gave up his memories and he remembered researching a murder from the 1800s and his search for the ghost's name had lead him to Akimoto, back at the hotel, where he had then felt--

Pain. Someone had come up behind him and attacked him.

Shinichi sat up with a gasp, and then grabbed his head as it throbbed and pounded with each beat of his heart. _Ow_, that hurt. That hurt a lot. His fingers sought out the spot where the pain was originating and he was relieved when his fingers came away clean. The flesh was tender, but he hadn't bleed anyway. Good. There was still a chance he might have a mild concussion, but at least he wouldn't need bandages or stitches.

Keeping still until the throbbing went back down to a tolerable level, Shinichi peeked open an eye. The light filtering in through the trees was horribly bright to his sensitive eyes, but it didn't linger after he got used to it. If he did have a concussion, at least he didn't have either the memory lose or the sensitivity to light symptoms.

He forced his brain to work, taking in the fact that it was morning and that he was out in the forest. Already he was working through theories: had someone tried to kill him and failed, dumping his body out here without checking to see if he was dead? Or they had simply hoped the wild life would finish him off if the blow to the head didn't? And what had become of Akimoto-san, who there was no way she couldn't have become involved since she had had a front row seat of the whole thing?

Shinichi turned his head to the left, seeing nothing but trees, trees and even more trees. How deep into the forest was he, and how long had he been out here? Judging from the growling of his stomach, and the fact that it was light - morning light at that, not late afternoon - it had been at least sixteen hours, maybe more.

He frowned at the thought. Maybe the head wound was worse than he thought, if he'd been out that long. He was certain he shouldn't be moving around, but he didn't appear to have any other injuries and he really didn't do the whole 'damsel in distress' thing well, and who knew if anyone would find him out here? No, he was going to have to help himself as much as he could before handing himself over to a doctor the first chance he got.

He turned his head with painstaking care, wincing as the simple action caused the headache to flare again, before settling down again. More trees, he must have been far off into the forest, as a look behind him affirmed there were nothing but trees that way too. It was going to be a pain to find his way back, but he was still certain he could.

He was just about to start trying to negotiate with his head to allow the act of standing up with he saw her. Shinichi hissed sharply and wondered how he had missed the body laying prone not even a meter away from him. Even with a concussion, he should have been able to see it! He was slipping, that had to be it, for him first not to have noticed his attacker and then to miss Akimoto's body.

Shinichi forced his legs to move, coming to a complete halt as he realized just how odd his limbs felt. How his whole body felt, actually. Like he was somehow disconnected from it and moving it took a whole lot more effort than it should. An alarm went off in his head, screaming possible brain damage or worse, but he forced it back down before it could turn into a flat out panic. He couldn't afford to lose it here, and he could still move. That was all that mattered at the moment, all that could matter until he could find some help.

It took far longer than it should have, but Shinichi managed to cross the three feet to Akimoto's body - for that's all it was. The poor woman was well and truly dead with no hope of revival. Her skin was cold, and there were red splotches in her wide eyes, her face frozen in a look of terrified disbelief. Shinichi noted the bruising around her neck, and coupled with the hemorrhaging in the eyes, it was easy to tell she had been strangled.

Shinichi was forced to add a new theory to his list: that the target had been Akimoto all along and _he_ had been the possible witness that needed to be taken out. Judging from the expression her face, she couldn't believe the killer had strangled her. Someone she knew and had trusted? Or maybe someone that she couldn't fathom would want to kill her.

He checked her hands, hoping she might have injured her killer, but there didn't appear to be anything under her finger nails. She was still in her work uniform, which was to be expected, and looking her over, Shinichi quickly came to the conclusion that this wasn't where she was killed. The body had been moved post mortem, which was hardly surprising. Dumping the body in the forest was a whole lot smarter than just leaving it back at the hotel.

There were no further clues he could see, and in his state of health, he might damage any evidence the forensics might find that he couldn't off hand because of his head injury.

He'd have to go and find that help then. Shouldn't be too hard, he hoped. He knew the basics of survival in the forest and it wasn't like he'd never been lost in a forest before. He'd learned real quick how to find his way through the woods after he'd gotten lost on a camping trip with Agasa-hakase during his first childhood that had resulted in him spending the night in a ditch, only falling asleep because exhaustion refused to allow him to do otherwise.

The first thing he did was check his pockets for his cell phone. He was surprised to see it there, a little baffled really, but he wasn't surprised to see it had no bars. This deep in the forest and it wasn't surprising he had no reception.

The next thing he did was extend his senses to see if he could hear a river or some sort of water passage. Where there was water, he would eventually find some kind of civilization. A smile of relief pulled at his lips as the faint sound of a stream trickled in under the sound of the birds and the rest of the forests denizens. The killer had more than likely used it to get back as well, unless there was a path nearby he wasn't seeing. Since he didn't have the slightest clue which direction it could be in, he wasn't going to risk losing where Akimoto's body was placed and would just have to follow the stream.

After this, it was just a matter of finding something to mark his path with so he could find the spot later on with the police. Wasn't hard, there were rocks littered every where and finding a suitable one for the task was just a matter of forcing his limbs to cooperate to grab one.

Simply standing had been an interesting task. That feeling of detachment was still strong, but he was relieved that it was getting easier and easier to move. By the time he reached the stream and started up stream, he almost had full control again, although the head ache still lingered.

An hour, maybe two, later found him coming up on a building that appeared to be harvesting the stream for energy. His legs ached from their impromptu hike, but they weren't beyond moving. He dredged up the bank of the stream, skirting around the fence of the power stations property until he reached the road leading up to it. There were no other buildings in sight, but when he pulled out his cell phone and discovered it had located two bars from somewhere, all he could think was that he was more than ready to be found.

The operator, a gruff man, a heavy smoker from the sounds of it, answered the phone. The man didn't particularly sound happy, even sounded a little frazzled, but Shinichi thought it was perhaps the second best sound he'd heard that morning, right under the sound of the stream. Opening his mouth, he forced his hoarse voice to say, "This is Kudo Shinichi, and I'm reporting a murder and an attempted murder..."

-----

Shinichi had gladly settled himself down on the side of the road where the man that had answer the police line, Harada-san, had told him to stay until the helicopter could arrive. The man had sounded downright thrilled to hear his voice, muttering something about a lunatic, strobe lights, and the station's P.A. Apparently a young man going by the name of Kuroba Kaito had come in insisting that he, Shinichi, and possibly a woman as well were missing and when they hadn't immediately believed him - tourists, they got lost all the time - the teenager had gotten insistent.

Shinichi almost felt bad for the man. Kaito could get... creative, when he was worried.

The detective did feel a bit of guilt over having worried the magician. If he had been paying more attention, he would have seen the attacker and Akimoto wouldn't be dead. It was a poor substitute for her life, but it was the least he could do would be to find her killer and bring him or her to justice.

It didn't surprise him when the helicopter arrived in record time. If Harada-san's comments earlier were any indication, it was probably out the first moment it was light enough out to see. It shouldn't, however, have been a surprise to see a figure leaping from the helicopter before the vehicle had even properly landed, nor to see the figure making a bee line for him.

Shinichi stared up at the figure, knowing who it would be before the person had even removed his helmet. "Kaito?"

Kaito threw the helmet aside as if it wasn't worth the effort to put it down. All Kaito could think was there was Shinichi, his beautiful, stubborn Shinichi, alive and sitting right there in front of him. It was one of the most wonderful sights he'd ever seen and he couldn't stop his fingers from reaching out to touch and assure himself the detective was real and not just a figment of his imagination.

"Kaito! What are you doing--" Shinichi protested as Kaito ran his fingers up Shinichi's shoulders, checking lightly for injuries and ignoring the fact that there was a trained professional getting out of the helicopter just behind him, up his neck, into his hair-- "Kaito, stop! I'm fine, you don't have to--" Shinichi's hoarse voice cut off into a hiss as his fingers found a tender spot on the back of his head. The report that operator had taken had said Shinichi had reported taking a blow to the back of the head.

Someone was growling and the world was oddly red tinged, and it took a moment to realize it was just himself. Shinichi was giving him an exasperated look and had taken hold of his wrists and pulled his hands away. Kaito let him hold onto them, using them as an anchor against the white hot rage boiling in his veins. Someone, or some ones, had tried to kill his Shinichi. They had tried to steal him away from him, and oh, gods, he had nearly lost him. If the injury had been too severe, if Shinichi hadn't woken up...

He had known all along, that one day he might lose Shinichi to one of the killers the detective chased after. Known it like a sick, sour after taste that haunted his dreams after those bad cases where Shinichi had come too close to dying. He just wasn't sure what he would do if he ever lost Shinichi. He wasn't even sure if he found the culprit that the person would make it into police custody alive, although he liked to think he would be able to control himself and not give the killer that victory too.

Kaito twisted his hands in Shinichi's grip so that he could grip the other teen's hands. He held on them as the paramedic inspected Shinichi's injury, squeezing them as the teen detective couldn't hide the wince as the paramedic prodded the area. At that point, he was almost hanging on just to keep himself from running off and doing something rash every time Shinichi winced. He only let go of one of them when the paramedic needed Shinichi's arm to check his vitals.

"Well," the paramedic announced, putting his equipment away in his bag. "It doesn't look like you have a concussion and while your vitals are a little lower than I'd like them, they're still within the safety zone. I'll be able to check them over properly once we get you to the hospital." The paramedic checked his watch, adding, "The ambulance should be arriving in another ten minutes, and we'll have you to the hospital in another thirty--"

"I'm staying for the investigation."

Shinichi's voice cut through the paramedics words and the man faltered for a moment. His expression was fixed in an endlessly patient one and it was no doubt he was used to dealing with stubborn patients. He'd have to be. "Now, Kudo-san, I understand your need to be involved, but the police will be arriving with the ambulance and you can let them take over--"

"No," Shinichi stated, calm, cool, and much more collected than he should have with his injury. Determination sang in his eyes and he wasn't going to give up the case unless physically sedated. "I will lead the police back to the site where Akimoto-san's body is located and I will require they're help in finding suspects that may have killed her."

Shinichi, turning away from the sputtering paramedic now that he felt the man was no longer of any use to him (Kaito felt a bit of pity for the man), he addressed the police officer that had accompanied the paramedic and Kaito. "Someone was in the room with us, when I was knocked out. Did any check the video footage for anything suspicious? It's highly probable Akimoto-san was murdered at the hotel."

The officer jerked around to face him once he realized he was being addressed. There was a pause as the officer mulled his question over and perhaps whether it was worth his time or not to answer. Amused, the man said, "After your little boyfriend, here, managed to talk the keibu into taking on the case, we searched the hotel. The tape with the video footage from 1:00PM to 6:00PM is missing. No one knows where it is or what happened to it."

Shinichi gave Kaito a look that said he would be asking about what he'd put the officers through at a later time, and Kaito would be happy to let the other officers tell him all about it.

The paramedic finally found his tongue and started protesting. Loudly. "Now, Kudo-san, I must protest! We don't know how bad that injury is, and if something goes wrong--"

This time Kaito cut in, "Do you think it's absolutely necessary that he go to the hospital?"

The man paused, and from the look on his face, he really didn't want to admit that he didn't think it was. He tried to cover it up with, "It's my professional opinion that with injuries like this it's best the person checks in immediately and--"

"Doctor, please answer the question."

The paramedic opened his mouth, ready to protest again, looked between the two, and then finally decided to just give up. "No. It's not." He did not sound happy about saying it either.

Kaito nodded. "If something goes wrong or it gets worse, I will personally see to it that Shinichi gets in that ambulance and goes to the hospital." He turned an 'and you know I will' grin on Shinichi, who glared back at him. Kaito didn't miss the gratitude in the detective's eyes though.

Kaito just hoped he wasn't making a mistake in not forcing Shinichi to the hospital. Still, if Shinichi felt up to bossing people around a crime scene, he had to be feeling better.

The paramedic had been wrong about how long it would take for the ambulance to arrive - it arrived it five. Three cars pulled up, shortly followed by another three; a team of nine, lead by an officer who introduced himself as Inspector Ishida Morihiro, a large bulky of a man, all muscle and dark eyes and probably ruled his precinct with an iron fist. The man had taken one look at Shinichi and laughed.

"Yeah, I've heard of you, Kudo Shinichi. Rather popular detective with the teenagers. I heard you supposedly helped take down some mysterious syndicate." Ishida-keibu sneered, leaning down the six inches that he'd been towing over the teenager to get right up in his face. "You may have Metro wrapped around your finger, but we aren't them. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pack you into that ambulance."

Shinichi, completely nonplussed, met the man's stare with a blank one of his own, and stated, "I know where the body is."

Ishida-keibu's eyes narrowed. "Good answer, kid." The man pulled away, turning to the other officers. "I want this area blocked off. No one is to go in or out of it unless I say so." He pointed to two officers that had arrived in the same car. "Kyogoku and Toshiyo, stay here and make sure the rookies do it right." He pointed to the other two ranking officers. "Mizuguchi and Tsunemasa, you're with me. Now get to work people!"

Ishida turned his glare on Shinichi, making a mock-polite gesture for 'you first.' "Lead the way, Kudo-san."

Shinichi got to his feet, waving off Kaito's help when offered. The magician only reluctantly released his hands when the detective assured him that he was fine. Kaito may have released his hand, but he wasn't likely to leave Shinichi's side any time soon.

Ishida-keibu saw this and didn't apparently like this. "You're friend can't come with you, Kudo-san."

Shinichi paused, snorting. "Believe me, you wouldn't be able to stop him."

The officer narrowed his eyes. Stepping up to the teen detective, he stopped just outside Shinichi's personal space using ever inch he towered over the younger man to try and intimidate him. "I can have him arrested. Civilians do not go onto my crime scenes."

Shinichi stared back blandly, completely unaffected. "I'm just as much as a civilian as he is." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, just to show how at ease he was. "Kaito has attended crime scenes with me before. He knows what to do and what not to do. If you need any further assurances, I will personally take responsibility for his actions. He messes up the scene, I'll let you throw both of us in jail."

Ishida-keibu raised both eye brows, but his expression was more amused then annoyed. He most certainly liked that deal. "Just give me a reason, Kudo-san, and I'll take you up on that."

Shinichi nodded, confident that the inspector was going to be deprived of their company even if Kaito decided this time was a good time to start messing with crime scenes.

As Shinichi, followed shortly by Kaito, and then the officers, began heading for where the teen detective was almost certain he had exited the forest - it wouldn't be too hard to find it, with the river near by if they over shot a little - Shinichi deadpanned, "Turning his hair purple will not help the situation any."

Kaito grinned, opening his hand to reveal a little tub of purple hair dye. He stuffed it and his hands in his pocket, not looking guilty in the least. "Guys too stiff, he needs to lighten up a little."

Shinichi snorted, glancing at the inspector. "And you were going to do that with hair dye?"

The grin on the former Kaitou's face was downright mischievous. "Better than turning his uniform tye-dye."

Shinichi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He already had enough of a head ache without trying to keep an eye on the prankster.

The trek back was long; longer than Shinichi remembered traveling to find the road. He would begin to think they'd gone too far, until someone would find another marked tree and further down the river they went. The sun had completely cleared the horizon when they found their way back to the dumping site, the group feeling every muscle as they stepped into it.

Akimoto lay right were Shinichi had left her, nothing having come to disturb her in the hours she'd been left unattended. Mizuguchi and Tsunemasa immediately set about taping the area off with Ishida moving over to Akimoto. The officer's face softened at the sight of her. "Always knew she'd get into trouble one day," the man murmured. He knelt, reaching over and gently closing her eyes. "Just hoped it would never be like this."

Shinichi, and by default Kaito as well, kept their distance, giving the man a moment to collect himself. Small town like this it wasn't surprising that the inspector would know the people to some degree.

Taking a deep breath threw his nose, Ishida-keibu stood up, squared his shoulders, and whatever moment of weakness he'd had none of it showed as he turned around to face the two teens. "I want to know _everything_ you remember."

Shinichi nodded, stepping forward to stand beside him. "At a quarter past one, I was talking with Akimoto-san about the supposed ghost in Room 131. She seemed rather interested in telling me about it." The inspector snorted and Shinichi got the impression the man would have said 'she was interested in telling _everybody_,' at any other time. The teen detective glanced at him, the carried on, "She was telling me about Kawaguchi Ishimaru when someone came up behind me and knocked me out. This morning, I woke up here."

Ishida-keibu's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, deliberately ignoring Shinichi's personal space, and without asking, took hold of his chin with one hand and buried his other hand in teen's hair. Shinichi tensed, mouth opening to demand what he was doing, when he realized that the inspector was inspecting the place where he'd been hit. He fisted his hands, refusing to wince as Ishida-keibu checked the spot no matter how much it hurt.

The inspector withdrew and Shinichi had to bit his tongue against asking a sarcastic 'satisfied now?'

"Alright, Mr. Detective," Ishida-keibu said, stepping aside and gesturing to the scene like he was offering it on a platter. "Tell me what happened. I'm all ears."

Shinichi was fairly certain that couldn't have been anymore snide if the man tried. He ignored it, kneeling down. "The cause of death was strangulation." He pointed at the neck where the bruises stood prominent against her pale skin. "Judging from rigor mortis, she's been dead over 19 hours. Time of death was almost certainly between 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock PM."

"When you were with her." Ishida-keibu pointed out, kneeling down again to get another look at the body. His face had a level of detachment that spoke of experience with the deaths of people he knew. He checked his watch and looked her over, before nodding in agreement.

Shinichi took that as his initiative to continue. "The place of the murder was more than likely the hotel, but I can't say for sure until I inspect it." Slipping his gloves from his back pocket, he slipped them on and then reached out and lifted Akimoto's hand just enough to show her hand to the inspector. "She didn't fight back, a sign she was caught off guard or knew her attacker." He splayed the hand to show the fake nails over her real ones. "These are old, and were ready to be changed. If she fought back she would have lost at least one of them." He set the other hand down and pointed to the other one. It, too, wasn't missing a single nail.

Ishida-keibu's face darkened. "You're saying she was killed by one of the towns folk."

Shinichi gave the man a side look. "Murder happens everywhere, Keibu. Even out here." He indicated her wrists, and her bare arms. "There's no marks to indicate she was restrained before she was killed."

The inspector grunted. "She could have been drugged."

Shinichi shook his head. "True, but the killer would have gotten faster results in the allotted time just by hitting her like me, and her head-" he reached out, leaning over the body awkwardly to indicate the back of the head, "-appears to have taken no damage either. No, this was done on the spot."

"Doesn't make sense either," the inspector countered. "Haruko was a smart girl. Moment she saw someone knock you out she should have been hitting the panic button under her desk."

Shinichi mused on that. It didn't makes sense. There was no way she could have missed seeing the attacker head on and anyone should have been alarmed. So _why_...?

The snapping of a twig alerted the duo to the approach of Mizuguchi. Ishida sat back on his heels, looked up at him and gave the keiji a short, "Well?"

Mizuguchi pulled out a notebook from his breast pocket, flipping it open to the desired page. "There were no foot prints, sir. No trails nearby either. Whoever the attacker was must have used the stream like we did."

Ishida-keibu got to his feet, dusting imaginary dirt from his suit, and got right up in the officers face. "Is that all?"

Mizuguchi gulped audibly and looked ready to flee. He nodded. "Yes, sir."

Ishida-keibu snorted, but backed off. "Get a body bag over here and get her out of here. She's been out here long enough."

Shinichi thought he might have heard a hint of sorrow behind the man's loud orders. He wondered if anyone else heard it as well.

Mizuguchi nodded, heading off to the side and pulling out a cell phone. Shinichi couldn't really hear what he was saying but he didn't have to to know that the officer was calling the EMTs in to clear the body.

Shinichi let their voices wash over him, keeping half an ear out for anything telling that might require him to pay attention. He let his focus give the body one more look over, hoping against hope to find anything. He shifted, pulling himself back to lean on his heels, bringing his hand back from where he'd had it near the back of her head.

He paused as his hand passed the bruises near her neck. He narrowed his eyes, bringing his own hand closer to the neck. The bruises had formed vividly against Akimoto's pale skin, forming an almost perfect shape of one of the hands - a hand roughly the same size as his own. He pulled his hand away, cataloguing the information away for later use.

He could feel the presence of someone stepping up to him, before he heard Kaito's familiar voice. "Incoming."

Shinichi looked up at him, curious. It was too early for the EMTs and the other police to arrive, so who could he mean--

The rustle of the trees caught everyone's attention. All conversations broke off as every officer and civilian turned as one to face the noise, just in time to see the unmistakable form of a woman stumble into the clearing. She nearly tripped on a branch, righting herself and tugging her skirt free, before standing to her full height.

Someone to Shinichi's left cursed. Loudly. The detective spared the source, Ishida-keibu, a curious look, and then turned back to the new comer.

The inspector growled, his displeasure obvious in every visible inch of him. "Norime! How the hell did you find this place?" She opened her mouth to respond and Ishida-keibu waved off her explanation with an impatient gesture of the hand. "Never mind. Get out of here!" He stalked up to her, bearing down on her in much the same way he had done with Shinichi, and this Norime-woman was much smaller than either the inspector or the teenage detective. "What have I told you about coming around my crime scenes?"

Norime for all intents and purposes completely ignored him, her dark brown eyes searching the scene as if looking for something. Shinichi noted she hadn't even glanced at the body. "He was here." She said it with conviction. She sounded like she was sure whoever she expected to see had been here, although she didn't appear to be seeing him.

Ishida-keibu groaned, more a show then with any real emotion behind it, although there was some. "Enough, Norime. You're going to leave now, or I'm going to have you escorted out--"

"Who is 'he'?"

The inspector broke off, an eyebrow twitching at the interruption. "Don't encourage her, Kudo-kun."

Norime dropped her eyes to settle on Shinichi. She seemed to be attempting to decide whether it was worth her time to answer or not. Whatever she saw, she answered anyway, her voice soft and he could tell she was doing it to force people to _listen_. "The serial killer. I've warned them for years of his return, but they never listen..."

Shinichi stood, dusting himself off and he tilted his head to the side. He studied Ishida's posture, noting the lack of urgency. There was only a tired irritation. He had obviously heard this story often. He looked to Norime, noting her honesty. In her mind, she was only telling the truth. "A serial killer?"

She took his prompt, attempting to step around Ishida, but only managed to get a better view before Ishida reached out an arm to block her. She ignored it, simply acting like she had come up to an inconvenient fence. "The ones from the legends. He still walks this earth, waiting for the day that he can return and take up his killing again."

Ishida-keibu scoffed. "That's nothing but an old bogey man story meant to scare little kids!" He didn't turn, but it was obvious the next part was for Shinichi's benefit. "The older generation like to tell watered down versions of an old story, saying that a killer from over a hundred years ago will come out and get them if they don't eat all their vegetables or come it before nine every night."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "The killer that murdered twelve women before vanishing a hundred and forty years ago?"

Ishida did turn this time, looking mildly amused despite himself. "Saw that, did you? Yeah, that's the one. He was real, he's dead, and the legend of his return is nothing but a story."

Norime's nose flared, and she looked incensed. She glared at the inspector, acknowledging him fully for the first time. She pointed angrily at the Akimoto's body. "If it's just a story, the why is she dead!?"

Ishida glared down at her, bearing down on her in height and presence, and hissed, "If this had been that bastard we would have found Haruko _naked_ because she had been _raped_. That sick son-of-a-bitch _always_ raped them. It was as much his M.O. as strangling them." He pointed in Akimoto's direction and Norime had to pull her hand back to avoid being hit by it. "She was murdered by a real person, but she was _not_ touched."

Without thinking, Shinichi looked down at the body. The cloths were rumpled and appeared to be intact, but none of her undergarments were visible but what he could see of her legs peeking out of her skirt were untarnished. Still, it was impossible to tell just by looking at her, and Shinichi wondered if Ishida was better at seeing the signs than him - he hadn't even thought to _look_, wouldn't have even if he had - or if it was mere wishful thinking.

Norime had backed up a step by the time Shinichi turned back. Her determination still burned in her eyes, but she simply seemed sad at that point. She shook her head, remorsefully. "You're all fools because you can not _see_..."

Ishida had apparently reached his limit. "Tsunemasa, get her off my crime scene. If she resists, put her in cuffs."

Norime took another step back. She pointed a finger at the inspector, her words laced with venom. "You'll see." She looked them each in the eye, her own wide. "You'll all see before this is over!"

Tsunemasa hadn't even made it across the clearing before Norime turned and showed herself off the scene. Tsunemasa looked relieved he didn't have to bother.

Ishida-keibu stalked back to where he had been standing before, looking like he wanted nothing more than to forget the whole thing. Shinichi almost felt bad that that he was going to push it. Almost.

Eyes still on the spot Norime had been, he asked, "Who was that?"

The inspector glared at him out of the corner of one eye. "Inaba Norime, a mad woman who claims to see things. Some kind of... _psychic_ or something." He scowled, leaving no doubt what his opinion on the matter was. "It's all hocus-pocus hodge-podge, if you ask me."

Shinichi mulled that over, looking over Norime's - Inaba's, he corrected himself, now that he knew her family name - words in light of that revelation. He didn't believe in predicting the future, and the only reason he believed in ghosts was because he could _see_ them. He blinked. Could that be what she meant by 'could not see'? Could she also see--

He mental berated himself. If he started believing every psychic that claimed to see ghosts, it would be no time before he'd start believing ghosts could commit crimes. It may have been possible she could see something, but it was too soon to tell either way.

"Is she any good?"

Shinichi and Ishida-keibu both shifted around to turn inquiring looks on Kaito for the question. The magician shrugged, nothing but simple curiosity behind his question. Shinichi joined in the curious waiting for Ishida-keibu's response.

Ishida-keibu almost looked... uncomfortable. "She's good at finding crime scenes, I'll give her that, but Norime is _not_ a psychic. End of discussion."

Shinichi let it drop, sensing he wouldn't get anything else out of the man. He fell back to stand by Kaito and await the arrival of the EMTs, mind still turning over more important things, like Akimoto's murder, and putting Inaba and her beliefs out of his mind for the moment.

Kaito reached out and snaked a hand around his waist, and Shinichi let him do it, too distracted by his thoughts to protest. "You still ok?" The magician murmured, thankfully keeping his voice low.

His head was pounding, now that he spared a thought for it. It had been a dull throb before, and he probably should be lying down, but Shinichi was too stubborn to give up the case just yet. There were still too many unanswered questions and there was still the task of interrogating the people back that The Sweet Tart Hotel. "I'll be fine. Just need to get some pain killers."

Kaito whistled, low and sharp. "You must be in a lot of pain, if the great Kudo Shinichi is admitting to having a headache." Despite the tease, there was some real concern.

Shinichi ignored the tease. He did allow himself the luxury of bumping against Kaito's side, letting his partner's body heat seep into him. He felt oddly cold, despite the heat of the summer air.

Kaito took to this happily, pulling him closer. He nodded his head toward the bushes, and Shinichi glance over to see he was indicating Inaba's exit. "Think she's for real?"

Shinichi pulled away to twist around at give him a deadpan look. "You can't be serious."

The magician shrugged. "Hey, I happen to have it on good authority, that there are strange things out there."

The detective snorted. "You don't have to be psychic to be good at finding crime scenes."

Kaito gave him a pointed look and it was a no-brainer that the magician was thinking 'you mean like you?' Shinichi ignored that too, saved from any further inane questions the loveable idiot might come up with by the arrival of the EMTs and Ishida's chief medical examiner.

The man, whom introduced himself as Ooka Norihide, gave the body and the crime scene a look over, giving the same deduction that Shinichi and Ishida had come too. With his permission, and a promise that he should have confirmation from an autopsy within the next four hours, Akimoto was finally in a body bag and on her way back to civilization.

The trip back was a bit of a blur, Shinichi only giving enough thought to keep himself from tripping over anything and mostly just following the group. He was starting to feel the effects of fatigue and he would have done just about anything for a cup of coffee. A large cup of coffee. He waved off his partner's silent concern with a simple mutter of 'need caffeine' which not only seemed to put Kaito at ease, but got a laugh out of him.

It was probably the only thing that resulted in Shinichi being handed a nice, steaming cup of black coffee to wash down his two generic brand pain killers as the group stepped into The Sweet Tart Hotel almost two hours later. The detective took a sip of the scolding liquid and swore he could have kissed Kaito for bullying one of the probies into getting it for him. He might just still, he thought. Right after he finished all but chugging the drink first. Yes, that sounded like a good plan.

Two people Shinichi had never seen looked up as they entered. A woman and a guy, both looking too much alike to be anything other than siblings. The woman leapt to her feet upon seeing who it was, crying, "Did you find her? Did you find Haruko-chan?"

Ishida-keibu sighed. This was never the easy part and Shinichi felt sympathy for the man. "I'm sorry, Tadae-san. We found her body a few hours ago. She's dead."

Tadae staggered, a hand flying to her mouth and doing nothing to stifle the sob that tore from her throat. It was only with her brother's help that she made it into the chair when her legs gave out and didn't wind up on the floor. He looked up with grim eyes. "How?"

Kaito shifted beside him, and Shinichi spared him enough attention to catch a low, muttered, "Changed his tune..." The detective blinked at him, but the magician didn't elaborate further.

"She was strangled. They have her body down at the station by now. You can go down and see her in a few hours," Ishida-keibu explained, his voice taking on that gruff texture again.

The man's finger's clenched and the only reason they were fists was because he was still holding onto his sister's shoulders. "What are you doing here, then? Shouldn't you be finding her killer?"

"We are, Kore-san."

The man, Kore, blinked at them. His face flushed, temper flaring. "Are you suggesting _we_ had something to do with this?"

Under his hands, Tadae gave a shuddering sob, burying her face in her hands. Kore's knelt down next to her, his temper temporarily held at bay in the wake of his concern for his sister. He glared up at the officers. "Can't this wait until later? She's in no condition for this."

Shinichi stepped forward, dropping his empty cup into a nearby trash can. "We'll let both of you go, just as soon as we establish your innocence."

Kore nearly leapt to his feet, only held down by Tadae's hand clinging to his arm. "You son-of-bit--!"

Ishida interrupted him by clearing his throat.

The man glared, but broke off nonetheless, despite being a full grown man and having every right to curse all he wanted. He growled and said instead, "Where do you get off accusing us of killing Haruko?"

Kaito piped up then, something like a warning broiling beneath his tone as he pointed out, "You weren't all that interested in Haruko's health last night."

Kore glared at the boy, and then paused, momentarily confused. He looked from Kaito, whom he apparently recognized, to Shinichi, as if he were really seeing him for the first time. He huffed. "So, you found him, huh?"

Shinichi assumed he was referring to Kaito's search to find him. He really was starting to wonder what Kaito had done over the night and how many people in the town _wouldn't_ recognize him. "Is it true?" He prompted.

Kore scowled. "Yeah, I don't think much of Haruko. She hasn't been anything but trouble since the day she learned to walk. But I'd _never_ kill her."

Shinichi wished he could take people at their word, but he had seen people because of rage far too many times. "Where were you and Tadae between 1PM and 2PM yesterday after noon?"

Kore's jaw dropped. He looked too furious to articulate words and he looked ready to leap at the detective for even suggesting such a thing. Shinichi could feel the brush of Kaito coming to stand behind him, ready to pull his partner away from danger if the other man couldn't control himself.

Tadae squeezed his arm, and Ishida-keibu stepped forward to intervene. "It's a standard process of elimination." He glanced at Shinichi. "Although, I would have preferred he go about it in a more considering way."

Shinichi didn't bother to even shrug, completely unrepentant. He simply put his hands in his pockets and watched Kore, waiting for an answer.

Something like betrayal passed through Kore's eyes, but he grudgingly said, "I was with my girl friend."

"Name, please, Kore."

There was a pause, and Shinichi noted that despite her grieving, even Tadae seemed to pull herself together enough to listen in. Shinichi raised an eye brow. Did they not know who he was dating? Oh, this could get sticky.

Kore grit his teeth. Low, in a hiss, and sounding like every syllable was being ripped out of him, said, "Norime. I was with Norime. From Noon to 3PM. I... proposed to her at around 1- 1:30PM. Ask the restaurant, we were at Kotobuki."

Kaito's eye brows shot up and he gave a whistle. "Oh? You were the one that proposed?" He paused and worked the rest of the comment through, adding, "Wait? Norime? You mean, Inaba Norime?" He pulled a face, not impressed with the guy's choice of women.

Ishida-keibu seemed to agree, as did Tadae, who gave a sort of surprised hiccup that could have been a near choke. The inspector blinked at him incredulously, "You're dating Norime? You _proposed_ to Norime??"

A few of the officers broke out into low whispers of equally stunned and similar questions.

Shinichi cleared his throat, stopping that line of questioning before it could get out of hand and too away from the real problem. To Kaito, he asked, "You knew about the proposal?"

Kaito nodded, even if Shinichi couldn't see it with his back to him. "Yeah, I could hear the waiters talking about it for a while after I got there at five. Didn't say who it was though."

Shinichi nodded, distracting himself from the guilt that wanted to spike up again at the dinner date he had missed because of his carelessness. "Someone needs to check Kotobuki for times." To Kore, he asked, "Did you pay with cash or a card?"

"A card."

"And check the card company for when the card was charged."

Ishida-keibu seemed to shake himself out of his stupor, jumping back on the bandwagon with only a slight stutter. "Right. Mizuguchi, check the restaurant. Kyogoku, get the records from the card company. I want those records down here stat."

Both officers nodded, exiting through the door to carry out their respective orders.

Kore and his possible alibi being taken care of, Shinichi turned his attentions on Tadae. "Where were you, miss..."

"Amago," Kore answered. "Our family name is Amago. Our mother married a man outside the family and we carry his name."

Shinichi nodded. "Amago Tadae-san, where were you between 1PM and 2PM?"

Tadae took a shuddering breath, coughing slightly, before managing, "With Masayo-obasama, Haruko's okaasan. We... we were preparing for Moto-kun's birthday. It's tomorrow you see, and-- and--" Her eyes widened and she gave a full body shudder. "Oh, gods, when they _hear_--" She couldn't continue, dissolving into tears again.

Kore's glare was hot and smoldering. Shinichi didn't blame him, nor did he let it bother him. Kore was just protecting his little sister and Shinichi was the one that was readily available to take the man's anger at his sister's distress out on. "Are we done here?" the older Amago sibling asked, anger only barely leashed.

Shinichi could already hear Ishida-keibu telling Toshiyo to get a hold of this Masayo and bring her down for questioning. "Almost," he said, "We just need a list of names of everyone that had access to security room or might have access to a key."

Kore snorted. "There are four keys and the entirety of the Akimoto/Amago family knows where we keep the keys, even Moto-kun, and he's only 12. We never tell anyone outside the family where the security room is." He nodded at the inspector. "He knows who everyone is, don't you, Morihiro-san?"

Ishida-keibu made a noise of agreement. "We'll get everyone down here and ask." He eyed the man. "You didn't tell that Norime woman about the room, did you?"

Kore glared. "It hardly ever came up. Like we're about to sneak into the security room for a rendezvous when I have my own private home to please her."

Ishida-keibu snorted but nodded.

Shinichi, still listening with half an ear, turned to Kaito. "Do you think you can get in that room and take a look around?" He kept his voice low, as to keep anyone else from hearing.

Kaito raised an eyebrow. "You want me to break into some place?" When Shinichi gave him a deadpan look, he held up his hands in mock surrender. "Why not just ask them to open it and look?"

Shinichi glanced at Kore and Tadae. "It's most likely been hidden, and if that's so, it might not even be in the room anymore. I need someone skilled at finding things to look for it."

Kaito grinned. "Resorting to flattery, now? How devious of you."

The teen detective glared in warning. "Kaito."

The teen magician's grin vanished, and he gave the room a guarded look. Shinichi narrowed his eyes at him, trying to interpret the look. He felt a small rise of warmth as he realized Kaito didn't want to leave his side.

Guy really could be overly protective.

Slowly, reluctantly, Shinichi reached out and snagged one of Kaito's hands, lacing the fingers together and squeezing it. The thought of how much he had worried Kaito was doing nothing for his guilt. "I'll be fine, Kaito. The room is full of police officers and I'm not going to let the killer get a one up on me again."

Kaito turned shuttered eyes on him, the blue orbs seeming to glitter in the hotel's lights. He pulled the hand his fingers were tangled in to his lips, brushing them against the knuckles of Shinichi's hand while his other hand reached around and settled on the back of Shinichi's neck.

"Kaito?"

The former Kaitou pulled the hand away, seemingly finding a poor substitute as he took a step forward to bring his lips to Shinichi's in a shallow kiss. As he pulled away, releasing both Shinichi's hand and neck, he murmured, "If you make me worry about you again, I'll kill you myself."

Shinichi felt a smirk tug at the corner of his lips and didn't even try to hold it back. "Overprotective ba'aro." There was too much affection in his voice for it to be a real insult.

Kaito's response was an affirmative growl in the back of his throat, before he was slipping out of the room and off to find the security room.

Shinichi decided he'd leave his new tracking device where Kaito had slipped it onto his shirt collar. For now anyway.

With his partner gone, and with little else to do, Shinichi contended himself with walking through the motions of the after noon before. He remembered walking in and standing in front of the desk as he went to talk with Akimoto. Distracted, he came to stand roughly where he would have been standing the day before. He glanced behind him, seeing no doors behind him but the front ones and several feet of glass wall. Akimoto should have been able to see the attacker if he or she came in from there.

He turned around, only giving Kore a half glance as the man glared up at him for a moment before turning back to Tadae. Shinichi glanced to his left, seeing nothing but wall. The attacker didn't come from there and to his left he saw the entrance to the rest of the hotel. If the attacker came from that way, _surely_ one of them should have seen him or her.

Troubled, Shinichi ran through what he remembered. He had been talking to Akimoto, remembered looking up into the picture behind her and seeing Ishimaru entering behind him. It was almost reflex that he looked up into the picture. He expected to see the police officers milling about and doing their job. He expected to see the glass wall of windows and front door.

He hadn't expected to see Akimoto Haruko.

Shinichi spun around as if he'd been jerked by some invisible force, barely able to keep the surprise off his face as he stared at the ghostly figure standing just outside the glass.

She stared back at him, eyes wary and sad. Raising a hand, she pointed to something he couldn't see. Without waiting, she turned and walked off in the direction she'd indicated.

Shinichi was torn. One the one hand, she could be leading him anywhere, and he didn't fancy another stunt like the last time two times he'd followed a ghost. On the other, she could be leading him to a vital clue.

He grit his teeth and knew he was going to follow her. They _allows_ led him to a vital clue, dammit. Ones that he could have found on his own, but it would have admittingly taken hours of investigating to find. His pride rebelled, saying he could find it just fine, even if it did take longer, but Shinichi stomped it down. If there really was a killer on the loose, who knew when or if the killer would strike again and he didn't have _time_ to let his pride get the best of him.

No one looked twice as Shinichi slipped out of the hotel with a silent apology to Kaito. He took some solace in the fact that if he did get in over his head, there was still the tracer. It wouldn't save his life, if it came down to it, but at least they'd find his body and he'd be damned sure to leave one hell of a clue before he went down.

He spotted Akimoto near the end of the building. The direction of his and Kaito's room he noted. A little voice helpfully piped up and reminded him they had missed their deadline for turning their keys in. He wondered how long it would take for Kore to mention it. He seemed the type to recover from his loss fast enough to remember it if he had noticed.

The growing suspicion that they might actually be headed for his room, grew with every twist until the suspicion was confirmed and Shinichi found himself face to face with the door to Room 131, the same door Akimoto had just disappeared through.

Shinichi scrambled for his key, a little surprised when he found it stuffed loose in his back pocket (he could have sworn he left it in his wallet). He paused, blinking at it. Had the killer taken it sometime after they had been attacked? Hidden in there at one point, before moving them? It was likely and had its own sense. It was a bit risky, though, the killer would have known the moment he or she had entered that Shinichi was traveling with someone and couldn't know when his partner would be back.

Shinichi did know that the killer couldn't still be in the room, there was no way into the rooms and the keys were cards. The possibility of finding something finally spurred him to swiping the card. He was a little surprised when the little light flashed green indicating the card was still active. Had Kaito extended their visit last night?

He'd have to ask later, in the mean time, he slowly pushed open the door, listening for any movement inside. Hearing none, he opened the door fully and flicked the light switch. He shivered at the blast of cold air that hit him full force as he stepped in. It was more instinct to find a way to warm up, than any real expectation for it to be on, that had him glancing at the air conditioner, which was indeed off.

He shut the door, eyes falling on Akimoto, who stood silent and patient by the head of the bed. She was pointing at his bag sitting on the floor where it had been haphazardly tossed the morning before. Shinichi approached, trying to ignore how the air seemed to chill all the more as he came more and more near Akimoto's ghost. She didn't move, forcing him to nearly brush her as he reached for his bag. He wouldn't have felt any resistance if he had, but he didn't care for the tingly feeling that resulting from brushing ghosts on the rare occasions it did.

He tried to ignore her as he unzipped it, reaching in and trying to find anything that didn't belong. Wasn't hard. His bag was mostly full of clothing with only a few hard objects in it. When his fingers brushed against something hard, with a rough surface, he knew he had located it. Pulling the object free, Shinichi stared with wide eyed triumph at it.

He had found the missing security tape.

-----

_To Be Continued_

_-----_

NEXT: Shinichi discovers who the murderer is and Kaito gets a few surprises of his own.


	5. Finding Secrets

Author's Notes: Not as long, or as good as my last chapter, but Kaito finally getting some truth counts for something, ne? XD *epic fail* (sorry for the crappiness as usual. I swear, these chapters just get worse as I go. Oo )

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Chapter Five  
_Finding Secrets_

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Shinichi stared at the tape, with it's little label proclaiming _Front Lobby, 1PM - 7PM_, and he should have been taking it to the police, but instead found himself moving to the cabinet with the entertainment center. It was perhaps the need to know getting the best with him, and it might be tampering with evidence, but it didn't stop Shinichi from pulling open the wooden doors and searching for a VCR.

The entertainment center had one. It was old, like the TV, like the entertainment center, like the room. He wasn't even sure it was from the last decade, but it worked when he turned it on and so did the TV. He inspected the tape a moment, taking in the fact that it was near the end and would need rewinding. He popped it in first, hitting rewind to get it started while he tried to find the appropriate channel to view it.

He found it on video 3, a blue screen reading 'rewind' with a bunch of other blank information displayed on it. Shinichi felt around for a remote, finding it in one of the drawers and fiddled with the remote until the display went blank.

In the VCR, the tape hit the end of it's rewind, slowing down for the last little bit. Shinichi hit play anyway, letting the display come up to let him see how much further he had left. The black and white image of the Lobby came up, the time stamp reading 2:13PM. Still a little further to go. He hit rewind, just letting it go at its own pace.

The time stamp hit 1:33PM when a figure appeared in the bottom left of the screen, working backwards and looking like he or she was pushing, rather than pulling a second figure from the room. He watched as snippets of a fight gave way to the two figures separating and then finally just a long period of two still figures. Shinichi hit play and the time stamp hit 12:58PM and started forward again.

He watched as his video self came on to the screen, allowing bits of the conversation to replay and float into his conscious mind as he watched. His little video self came to a rest in front of the desk, Akimoto leaning on the desk as they conversed. Shinichi watched the areas around his video self, trying to catch a glimpse of his attacker. He should see the person, as both Shinichi and Akimoto were dead center of the camera view. Shinichi knew that it had been positioned in case such an event such as this were to occur.

He glanced at his little video self as he remembered Ishimaru coming in. He had never watched a video while knowing there was a real ghost in the room. Sure, he had seen the ones amateur ghost hunters put up on the web and the things people supposedly caught on tape and showed on television, but he couldn't ever be sure what was real or staged and hadn't ever bothered to attempt to find out.

He blinked as a black smudge-like thing appeared on the screen where Ishimaru might have been standing. Squinting, Shinichi stepped closer to get a better look at it only for the shadow to move off screen. He shook himself, stepping back again. If that was really Ishimaru, then he could very well have proof that ghosts really showed up on video.

Not that he'd never explain that the shadow was a ghost and not just a smudge or anything, but still.

Shinichi shook himself, turning his attention to the rest of the video. It was nearing his black out and no one had even walked in or out of the hotel. He did take note that the little smudge had returned, making it's way to stand by Shinichi's little video self's left. The current time was almost to where he would have estimated the attack and Shinichi found his eyes pulling towards the black smudge every few seconds, and it was only because he had been that he saw it move.

The tiny shadow made a leap for Video Shinichi, like something straight out of a B rated horror movie and for one, tiny instant - the tick between the tock - the shadow resolved itself into Ishimaru, his face twisted into a snarl, hands out stretched for the detective--

And then the video flickered, blackened, and then went to snow.

Shinichi stared at the screen, too startled to make heads-or-tails as he tried to comprehend what, exactly, had just happened. He tried to swallow around his suddenly dry mouth, and a tiny shudder went through his body.

That... that had been really creepy. How had he missed Ishimaru moving and what had he _done_, because the video was still snow and he couldn't _see_ anything--

The video flickered back on, resolving itself back into a solid picture. Whatever had happened had resulted in Video Shinichi prone and unconscious on the floor, Akimoto kneeling down and reaching out to shake him.

Shinichi hissed, realizing that he had missed whoever the attacker was. Akimoto seemed more interested in his video self's well being than the attacker and Shinichi tried to factor that into an equation that seemed to determined to elude him. Did she know the attacker? She never once looked up, never once appeared to be talking to anyone, just intent on reviving Video Shinichi.

On screen, Video Shinichi stirred, grabbing Shinichi's attention. Had he regained consciousness at one point and just didn't remember it? It was possible, it did happen. Victims regaining consciousness briefly enough to say something before passing out again. He watched himself lever on to his hands, shaking his head and turning to Akimoto. Even with the low quality and the black and white it did _nothing_ to take away from the look that spread across Video Shinichi's face.

It was a look of pure, demented joy.

The _thing_, because that wasn't him - he didn't know _who_ that was (Ishimaru? It couldn't be, could it? Ghosts couldn't really possess people, could they?) - said something to Akimoto, who was starting to inch away as the thing got to his feet. His movements were jerky and almost disjointed, like he was just a marionette on too loose strings and the limbs would go in the wrong direction with every movement.

There was a pause as the thing seemed to almost... adjust itself. Shinichi thought for a moment that he saw an after image of a shadow molding itself to fit it's new container, and when the thing moved next there was nothing faulty his movements. There was just a smooth almost glide as he approached Akimoto, who was backing herself into a wall.

"No, you idiot!" Shinichi hissed, wanting to reach into the screen and point Akimoto towards the doors and shake her until she ran _that_ way to safety, not into a corner and towards her death. Instead, all he could do was watch helplessly as whatever had taken control of his body reached for her. Akimoto opened her mouth to scream, tried to duck under Not-Video Shinichi's hands, but it was already too late.

Shinichi had to have a good twenty, maybe more, pounds on Akimoto and she didn't appear to have any defensive training. He watched in horror as the thing wrestled her to the ground, pinning her down as it said something to her. She shook her head, possibly in denial, and the thing _grinned_ as he wrapped his hands around her throat. Her struggles increased, and Shinichi felt oddly sick watching something that looked like him, but wasn't him, strangle the life out of the woman.

At 1:24PM, Akimoto Haruko stopped went limp and Shinichi morbidly thought that he had the exact time of death, even as he knew he'd never say it to the police. He tried to think of what he was going to tell the police, because he some how doubted they'd believe him if he claimed he had been possessed by a ghost and that's why Akimoto was dead and the tape was in his bag.

Even more idle-like, he wondered why a 140 year old ghost had even bothered to hide the tape in the first place. Unless it was trying to cover up Shinichi's involvement in the case? But why would it do that unless...

Shinichi shuddered, breath hitching as he tried to imagine Ishimaru - if it was Ishimaru - taking his body for another joy ride to murder someone else. It made him want to be sick, and he swallowed around the gag reflex, forcing himself to remain calm, even though he wanted nothing more than to run into the bath room and offer up the coffee he'd drank not even an hour ago to the porcelain god better known as the toilet.

He reached forward and hit the stop button with more force was necessary, ignoring the goose bumps on his arms that had nothing to do with the chill Akimoto was permeating into the room. The tape popped out and Shinichi had to resist the urge to do something destructive with the tape, like throw it across the room or attempt to break it with bare hands.

Instead, he turned around, the movement jerky and uncoordinated and Shinichi didn't even bother to attempt to make an honest effort of hiding the tape as he shoved it back in his bag and tossed it back over to where he found it. As if he could pretend he didn't know it was there or that he didn't know what was on the tape.

Shinichi ran a hand threw his hair and tried to think of what to do next. Kaito was going to notice he was missing soon and come looking for him, if he hadn't already. The tracer was going to lead him right to the hotel room and there was going to be questions that Shinichi really didn't want to try cover up with more excuses and almost-lies. He couldn't go back like this, though, shaky and a mess, and he could just imagine what he must look like.

Movement out of the corner of his eye drew his attention and Shinichi looked up to see Akimoto's ghost staring fearfully towards the door. The detective turned, confused, because he hadn't heard any one enter and he nearly smacked his face with his palm at the idiotic thought.

Of course he wouldn't hear a _ghost_ enter the room.

His hands tightened into fists and whatever sickly fear had settled in his stomach gave way to hot fury at the sight of Ishimaru staring back at him from the door. This _thing_ had murdered someone for the pure pleasure of doing so and it had used _him_ as it's weapon. How he wished he could drive a soccer ball into the bastard's _head_ and then leave him alone with Kaito for a day. Definitely leave him alone with Kaito. Maybe he'd turn him over after then.

Maybe. If he'd cooled down.

Ishimaru watched it, something like interest in its eyes as the ghost worked out why he was furious. It looked at Shinichi, to Akimoto, and then back to Shinichi, realization dawning in its eyes. The detective could see the exact moment the dead man figured out that Shinichi _knew_, watched it throw back its head and Shinichi could just imagine what that laugh would sound like if ghosts could speak.

He missed Akimoto's flinching. Missed a chance to wonder if the female ghost could hear it and as such to wonder if ghosts could speak to each other. As it was, Shinichi only had eyes for Ishimaru, and he knew he needed to calm down but he didn't care. All he could feel was the white hot anger in his veins and the dirty feeling of being used on his skin.

Ishimaru seemed to gain control of itself, raising a hand to make a 'come hither' gesture before taking a step back and threw the door. Shinichi didn't think, didn't stop to remember that somehow Ishimaru could somehow possess him and would most likely lead him somewhere to make it easier to do again, just bolted for the door, scrambling to get the door open and get out of the room and follow that _bastard_.

He saw the ghost disappear around farthest edge of the building, heading for the back of the building. Shinichi gave chase, not thinking about how his eyes sought out the ghostly white with ease as he rounded the corner, nor how familiar this chase felt to other ones with another seemingly ghostly white figure. There was nothing familiar in the thrill of the chase, but spending a year chasing Kid had made keeping track of Ishimaru child's play.

The ghostly killer lead him to a barn like structure deep in the woods behind The Sweet Tart Hotel, and Shinichi forced himself to stop, catch his breath, and _not_ follow Ishimaru immediately into the structure. It was old, it's wood rotten and discolored. Shinichi would see holes peaking through all over making it look like a giant attempt at swiss cheese. The thing didn't even have a roof any more.

Not to mention the atmosphere around the place.

Shinichi shook it off. He was being overdramatic. Even if the barn-thing was haunted, it couldn't feel like anything. It was just _there_, end of story.

Even as the feeling stubbornly persisted, Shinichi fought to ignore it, stepping up to the double doors that served as the entrance to the old structure. One door had come off it's hinges, laying flat on the ground where it must have fallen decades ago. The grass had long since adapted to grow around and even through it where the holes allowed sunlight through the mass of wood.

The detective peered inside, the inner room lit perfectly by the large gaps in the roof. It had long since been cleaned out and Shinichi was surprised it was still standing, whether it be from not being demolished decades ago, or by being taken down by nature. Whoever had originally built the barn had done one hell of a job for it to still be standing.

In the back corner, furthest from the entrance, something shifted, drawing Shinichi's attention. The detective narrowed his eyes at it, trying to make out it's features. He couldn't see it clearly - it had curled in on itself - but he could make out two distinctive things about the ghost: it was a woman and that it was most definitely _not_ Ishimaru.

The barn was haunted by more than one ghost it seemed.

Shinichi took a careful step inside, testing the wood of the door and only putting his weight on it when it held. Keeping a part of his attention on the ghost in the corner, he swept the corners of the room he couldn't see from the door. Ishimaru seemed to have vanished, but Shinichi was momentarily distracted that he had apparently found not one, but two new ghosts. The second listing carelessly in the left corner nearest to the door. Neither looked up as he entered, either not seeing him or too far gone in their hells to know he was there.

It was rare to see a ghost that couldn't distinguish the fact that they were no longer alive and living whatever traumatic experience that had ultimately lead to their deaths. He had only seen a handful, himself, and even solving their deaths had done nothing to sooth their deaths. It had been a few of the hardest decisions of his life, but Shinichi had been forced to leave them, unable to help them in any other way.

The creak in the door beneath his feet did nothing to hide the sudden drop in temperature from behind him. Spinning around, Shinichi wasn't surprised to see that Ishimaru had snuck up behind him and was standing just inches behind him. He still took a step back, nearly tripping when it turned out he was at the end of the door and hadn't realized it. His almost-stumbling serving to put further distance between them, but Ishimaru was quick to follow, like a magnet.

Shinichi tried to ignore the chill, tried to ignore the urge to step back again. He stood his ground, glaring at Ishimaru. He had faced criminals with dangerous weapons down before, one that would have killed him in an instant, and this one was no different. He didn't think about how he couldn't defend himself against the ghost, just wracked his brain to come up with something, because surely he had to have read something on exorcising ghosts.

"You murdered Akimoto." He didn't need to say how he had done it.

Ishimaru tilted his head to the side, as if it were thinking through a filter. It was strange. Shinichi hadn't attempted to have a conversation with a ghost in years. Had forgotten how they acted like children, simply doing things seemingly on instinct. Slowly a smile spread across the ghost's lips and it nodded.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes at it. "Because she was Matashiro Arina's descendant?"

Ishimaru frowned, but nodded. It almost seemed... deprived. Like a child who's favorite toy had been taken away. Shinichi couldn't fathom _why_ it would look that way, unless--

"You weren't having an affair with Matashiro the day her husband caught you." The story took on a new meaning even as Shinichi said the words. How painfully ironic that Ishimaru would be caught in the act of attempting to kill Arina by her husband, who somehow interpreted the event as an affair and killed them both in a fit of jealous rage. It was a terrible, rookie kind of mistake, but it could happen. Apparently did happen from the way Ishimaru was looking at him.

The ghost closed another inch of the distance between them, appearing eager for him to continue. Shinichi shuddered against the chill and pushed aside the feeling of light headedness that was creeping up on him. He didn't feel like he was about to pass out again, but that odd disconnected feeling was returning.

"You couldn't kill Matashiro, her husband had deprived you of that, but you couldn't let go." Shinichi looked beyond Ishimaru to the ghost listing in the corner. "Did you kill these two as well?"

Ishimaru nodded in earnest, thrilled that Shinichi had figured it out. In his eagerness, it took another step forward nearly coming in contact with the detective. Shinichi was concentrating so hard on not retreating that he nearly missed the movement from the ghost's mouth.

_Mine_.

Shinichi glared at the ghost in disgust. Ishimaru was possessive, and hadn't liked being deprived of a kill, so he found a way to kill one of Arina's descendants from beyond the grave. It sounded like a the plot of a horror movie. Maybe his father could write a novel and make millions, he thought with a touch of snide sarcasm.

"They're not yours anymore." Shinichi muttered, perhaps fatalistically. Ishimaru was too close if he pissed the ghost off and even if he tried to run he would be caught. He cursed himself for letting his pride talk him into letting the ghost close enough. "You're dead. Move on."

Ishimaru's face twisted into a snarl, and Shinichi had the distinct feeling that if the ghost could make vocal sounds, it would have been growling. Its hands came up as if the reach out and wrap around his throat and Shinichi's muscles tried to lock up as if bracing for impact. Some part of his mind reminded him that Ishimaru couldn't actually strangle him, couldn't really touch him, but all he could see was the image of himself strangling Akimoto.

Shinichi threw himself back, as instinct kicked in at the last instant, and Ishimaru's hands grabbed at nothing but empty air instead. Overhead, what remained of the roof groaned and creaked as the walls seemed to almost rattle and Shinichi glanced up at it, remembering that people told stories about angry ghosts that could make things _move_ just by their energy alone. For a chilling moment, Shinichi wondered if he would have felt those cold hand wrap around his throat if he hadn't moved.

Ishimaru was undeterred, seeming to take some delight out of the struggle. Shinichi noted with a level of detachment that there seemed to be more color to the creature, like it's rage was feeding it. The teen could feel a wave of nausea roll around in his stomach, and he tried to pass it as understandable fear, but even the deep breaths he was taking to try and calm it were doing nothing to settle the feeling. He was sure he was going to be sick, any minute if it continued and Ishimaru had come yet even closer.

Shinichi, against his better judgment, glanced up as debris from the roof trickled down, a small piece falling where he had just been standing. The detective stumbled back to dodge it, grunting as his back hit one of the support beams. He glanced up from where he'd followed the piece to the floor, trying to find Ishimaru and wanted to kick himself for his lapse in attention because the ghost was /right there/, hands inches from his throat.

And then, suddenly, it just... stopped.

Shinichi tensed, heart racing and lungs starting to ache as if the very air itself had been turned to ice and was trying to freeze the organs. He wanted to swallow, but even his mouth felt dry and stiff.

It took a moment to realize that Ishimaru was mouthing something again and for Shinichi's addled mind to interpret it. _No. No. No,_ over and over again. And then, _Not this one. Never this one._

Shinichi almost sneered in disgust, felt it trying to curl his lips as his hands clenched and unclench. Ishimaru was delusional, if it thought that the detective would be its weapon. He wasn't going to be used by anyone, dead or alive.

"Move on," he repeated.

Ishimaru smiled at that. The ghost leaned in closer, and Shinichi fought against his body's desire to shiver as it felt like the very warmth from his body was being sucked out of him. It stopped mere inches from his face, head tilted as if to whisper in his ear, but not quite, still allowing Shinichi to see its mouth moving as it 'said', _Make me._

Shinichi grit his teeth as much to stop them from chattering as to hide his frustration. It was true, he couldn't make the ghost do anything. He didn't even have the faintest clue how to, let alone if it were even possible. It had never came up before and he cursed himself for never looking into it. Just because he barely believed in this stuff seemed to hardly stop it from happening. He already knew this, and yet...

The detective opened his mouth, not sure what he was going to say, if anything at all, before he found himself blinking as Ishimaru drew away, turning to look towards the entrance of the barn. Shinichi glanced beyond it, looking for what could have drawn its attention.

And then he heard it.

The smallest of sounds, inevitable whilst out in the woods. Someone was outside, walking around on cat-quiet feet, almost inaudible, but just barely. Whoever was outside didn't want whoever was inside to know he or she was out there. Shinichi ran through a list of people likely to come out to such a remote spot at that exact time and found the list depressingly short.

Ishimaru looked displeased to have its time cut short, baring white teeth at the entrance before withdrawing from Shinichi completely. The detective would have made no move to follow the ghost even if he trusted his limbs to hold as it glided across the length of the barn, looking again like something out of cheep horror movie, and then disappearing through the side of the barn. The detective was certain he could follow it if he wanted to, but there was the problem of the person outside and the fact it was all too easy to follow Shinichi, himself.

He was starting to regret keeping the tracer.

"I know you're out there, Kaito."

Shinichi winced at how thin his voice sounded, hoped against hope that the other wouldn't notice it.

Kaito stepped into the doorway, glancing around the barn as if he were expecting it to fall over at any moment. Shinichi knew that it had to have been impossible not to have noticed the way the building had been _shaking_ a moment ago. The detective yearned to ask how much Kaito had seen, and possibly over heard, but refrained.

Like it would do any good to try and pretend it hadn't happened. The moment Kaito asked, Shinichi already knew he couldn't keep dodging the problem anymore.

The teenaged magician came to stand a mere two meters from him, hands stuffed in his pockets in a deceptive show of ease. His eyes roved over the debris littered around the floor of the barn, to Shinichi's position - still leaning against the beam - and then to actual focusing him. He quirked an eyebrow, most likely at the state of him, and Shinichi wasn't going to insult him by pretending he didn't get what Kaito was doing. Kaito was going to give him one more chance to explain.

He just wasn't sure there was one that wouldn't land him in the funny farm.

He decided to just go with the only route that didn't immediately start with 'I see dead people.' "I found the tape."

"Oh?" Kaito drawled, sounding interested, but not entirely happy that he had started there. "Did it catch anything interesting?"

"The murder. The face of the killer." Shinichi's eidetic memory was all too happy to remind him exactly what he had seen on the tape in excruciating detail and he could feel his shoulders slumping ever so. "Everything."

Kaito's eyes narrowed, just the slightest of creases around the eyes. Shinichi could see irritation working in there. too, as he tried to work out what Shinichi was wasn't saying and knew there was no way he would wind up anywhere near the touchdown. "And yet instead of taking the tape directly to the police, you're here." He gave Shinichi another look over, worry flashing in his eyes before it was hidden behind his mask. "You were with the killer."

It wasn't a question. Even if Shinichi denied it - which he wouldn't - Kaito knew he had been.

Shinichi felt he had collected himself enough that he could stand up again without the need of the pole. It was ridiculous, the way that his body felt chilled and drained even now that Ishimaru was gone, and yet he hadn't managed to shake it completely. "Yes."

The simple answer, so flippantly given seemed enough to finally put a crack in the magician's mask. Shinichi could see the movement from his pockets, most likely from him fisting his hands, possibly around something, and he'd have to be blind not to see the way Kaito's jaw clenched. "Idiot!" he hissed, taking a step closer to Shinichi, and the detective wasn't sure if it was meant to be intimidating or something else entirely. "We're supposed to be partner's, Shinichi. Why would you have gone after the killer alone?"

"Because you can't help." He hadn't meant to say it, especially not in a snappish, final way. He winced when Kaito didn't so much as flinch, so much as withdraw into himself.

There was just a touch of bite in the way Kaito said, "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that." There was a warning in the way his tone was blank and flat. Shinichi could see he was done being patient and nice. "Why did you go after the killer alone?"

They stared at each other, Kaito waiting for Shinichi to tell him the truth and Shinichi wondering why he was even bothering to hide it anymore. He was going to wind up in a little room somewhere after this, why not make it cushioned rather than concrete?

Shinichi stuffed his hands in his pockets, falling into something more familiar and secure, and tried to ignore the way his heart felt like it was going to pound itself out of his chest. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Kaito blinked, looking thrown for a moment, before he frowned in confusion. "Ghosts? What do ghosts have to do with--" He broke off, making the connection. He snorted. "Come on, you can't be buying into Inaba's story about that murder ghost guy--"

"Kawaguchi Ishimaru: raped and murdered twelve women before he, himself, was murdered from a gunshot to the back of the head on October 25, 1878, when the police officer, Matashiro Katanori mistakenly thought he and Matashiro Arina were having an affair." Shinichi watched as Kaito's face paled slightly as he worked that out and realized the same thing Shinichi had earlier.

Kaito shook himself, not allowing himself to get deterred.. "I still don't see what that has to do with this--"

Shinichi interrupted him again, ignoring the way Kaito's eye twitched when he did. "Kawaguchi didn't get to murder Arina, her husband did, so he decided to wait until he could find an opportunity to kill one of her blood line."

Kaito didn't look like he was buying it, not yet. His eyes were narrowed almost to slits, limbs stiff and ready to turn and walk out right then and there. "Shinichi, if this is a joke..."

Shinichi sighed. "You asked how I knew where Kyouga Kara was. She lead me there herself."

The magician stared back at him, unblinking and seeming to try and gauge just how serious he was and just how willing he was to believe that this wasn't just a bunch of bullshit. It was funny, Kaito would never raise a finger against him and wasn't anywhere near as threatening, and yet he was more terrified now then he had been when Ishimaru was going for his throat.

Finally, after a long, long moment that seemed to last an eternity, Kaito said, "That's it?"

Shinichi blinked, not sure he had heard that right. "Excuse me?"

Most of the tension seemed to have fallen away from Kaito's stance (but not all, Shinichi could still see it in the way he held himself just a little too straight and was still standing on the balls of his feet, ready to spring, or move, or _something_, if the moment called for it) and the magician crossed his arms and shook his head. "That's the secret you've been hiding, that you see dead people?"

Shinichi wasn't sure whether to boggle or feel slightly insulted that Kaito seemed to be suddenly taking this so lightly. "You believe me?"

Kaito actually laughed, short and almost a bark, and if there had been anything mocking in it, Shinichi wasn't sure he wouldn't be sending a soccer ball at the other right then and there. But there was nothing in it but just pure, honest amusement in it. The detective could see it in the magician's eyes when their eyes meet, Kaito's completely serious and sincere. "Shinichi, I spent almost two years looking for a myth that turned out to be true, one of my former classmates is a witch, and your hair really does do that."

Kaito either didn't hear or ignored - most likely the latter - Shinichi's "Oi." The teen shrugged. "People seeing ghosts aren't the strangest thing I've ever heard of."

Shinichi blinked at him in bewilderment, thinking that he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. With the corner of Kaito's lips quirking up in amusement, giving him that 'what now, tantei-kun?' look he always did whenever he thought Shinichi was stressing too much, he had to remind himself of all the reasons he had kept his secret, even when his lover had allowed Shinichi in on all of his (whether Kaito had wanted to or not) and found that each and every single one of them paled in the light Kaito's belief in him. It would have been terribly _girlish_ to say something as corny as he might have just fallen in love with the other all over again, but it wasn't far from the truth, even if he'd never admit it aloud so long as he lived.

It still felt like he had put down a burden, or, at least, shouldered a part of it onto someone else who could and would help him shoulder it. He was going to need it, especially when that tape got to the police.

Kaito must have seen something on his face, because his expression turned serious. "There's more."

Shinichi nodded. "Ghosts can't touch anything. They can't even speak. They have to get the attention of the living by visuals." He wasn't look forward to this part. Not in the least.

The magician's expression was something like confusion, before he was giving Shinichi an annoyed look. "You know how I feel about you trying to get me to play detective. Just say it already."

The detective buried his feelings down where they usually fell automatically whenever he was on a case and giving a deduction. They were giving him an unusual amount of trouble and he knew when he finally sat down and let himself _feel_ all this it was going to be hard. "The marks around her neck were from someone strangling her with their barehands. Did you know, that when I was looking at them I noticed something odd about them?" He held up his hands, fighting the sick, sick feeling beating against his walls. "They're the same size as my hands."

Kaito gave him a blank look. He looked at Shinichi's hands, eyes growing distant as he must have been remembering whatever he had seen of the body. Shinichi could see him go completely blank as he worked through the information and Shinichi would have been amused, that despite the fact he'd protested his deduction skills, he was doing just that then, if the situation wasn't so serious.

And then, he saw it _click_.

Alarm flashed across Kaito's face, followed by fury/worry/concern, all one right after the other, before the magician started to struggle to get his emotions under control. Shinichi, in one of those rare moments, was sorry he had made him loose control in such a way.

"Ghost possessions are _real_?" Kaito hissed. He glanced around as he said it as if looking for ghosts.

"I don't know? None of the others have ever tried." He gave the other a half hearted attempt at his dry look. "There aren't any ghosts in here. Not anymore."

Kaito jerked around to face him again, the look on his face suggesting that something had just occured to him. "Wait, let me get this straight. You followed a ghost - a killer - that could possess you to a remote spot out in the middle of nowhere?"

Well, when put like that, it did sound utterly stupid. Hell, looking back on it, he /knew/ that had been stupid. It was things like that that had lead him to his year long imprisonment as Conan. Still, Shinichi was nothing if not stubborn and willful and he didn't like the way his face seemed intent on flushing in shame. "It's not like it did."

And if that didn't sound petulant, he wasn't sure what did. Shinichi surpressed a wince.

Kaito shook his head. He held up a hand in a classic sign for silence and that he was in thought. It was meant entirely for show, and Shinichi let him do it with a cautious look. "Since I am obviously the most mature one here--"

Shinichi snorted, loudly and pointedly, at that, but Kaito, like usual, ignored it.

"--I'm going to be making a few decisions. First of all, no more running off and playing detective with murderous ghosts."

Shinichi crossed his arms, being stubborn only on princible. "And if I don't?"

Kaito gave him a look that suggested he was dead serious and more than willing to go threw with his next threat. "Then when I find you - and I will - I'm going to gas you and haul your ass back to Beika. Or better yet, _Ekoda_. Maybe a little trip to the resident witch will do you some good."

Shinichi imagined a few days with Kaito's classmate. He had only met her once and she had given him the hibbe-jibbes. If she was actually a real witch (did he even believe in witches?), could she do some of the things people told stories about? Kaito seemed to believe she could, and Shinichi semi-hated to admit that that was a rather convincing factor.

He sighed. "Fine, I'll play along. What else are we going to do, oh wise Kaitou-sama."

Kaito, once again, ignored the parts he didn't like (that is, the massive sarcasm in Shinichi's tone), and went on with, "And second, we're going to go back to the hotel and destroy the tape."

Shinichi's jaw dropped in horror. "Kaito! That's crime scene evidence. We can't just go and destroy it!"

Kaito gave him a patent glare. "This isn't the time to go all law-abidding citizen on me, Shinichi. You've done worse things than destroying a tape before."

Not that he liked Kaito bringing it up. He had broken plenty of laws while he was Conan and then later when he was helping Kaito. Each and every one of them felt like a black mark he kept on a perverbial check list to remind him just how often he'd broken the law getting here and why he didn't break it anymore. He grit his teeth. "I still don't like it."

"Would you rather they found it and convicted you of a murder you didn't commit?"

Shinichi admittingly liked that a whole lot less. It was almost tempting to just let them lock him up where Ishimaru couldn't use him to do anymore damage, but as soon as the feeling crept up on him, he wanted to kick himself. He was not a coward and he didn't give up. He was going to find a way to stop Ishimaru and letting himself get taken to jail was not an option. "Alright, we destroy the tape, but forensics will probably find other evidence to link me to the murder if there is any."

"There are more than a few reasons why they could never pin Kuroba Kaito to Kaitou Kid and it wasn't all luck." Kaito's smile promised he had that covered and that there would be more laws broken by the end of this than Shinichi cared to think about.

"Now, can we get out of this place," Kaito pulled a face, and gave the room an odd look. "Place doesn't feel right."

Shinichi glanced around, not surprised to see the two lady victim ghosts had returned. He thought it best not to mention it as they passed one on the way out. Nor did he think it wise to mention the way it had looked at him, as if seeing him for the first time and could see Ishimaru's former possession on him like a mark, because that was pity on the ghost's face. On instinct, he glance behind him, and saw, with a chill, a similar look on the other's face.

He already had given Kaito enough food for thought. The magician didn't need to know that the ghost seemed to have decided that he was already doomed to fail.

-----

Kaito switched on the light of the hotel room, pushing open the door the rest of the way to let Shinichi in. The room was hot and stiffling, but Kaito ignored it. He was on a mission, and bodily comforts were bottom of the list until they were forced to the top during them.

He could hear Shinichi behind him, see him looking around as if expecting to see someone but wasn't seeing them.

"Is there a ghost in here?"

Shinichi looked at him. "Room wouldn't be this hot if there was."

Kaito blinked at that. So that was another superstition that was true? He thought back to the morning before and how the room had fluctuated between 'normal cold' and 'freezing cold' before going back to normal after Shinichi had left. He had passed it off as a malfunction, but putting that new tidbit into play against the events made a place down by his belly clench.

There had been a ghost in the room _right then_ and he hadn't even known it. Could have even been _that ghost_. He didn't know what made him more furious, the fact that there had been a monster following Shinichi - would later use him to kill - or the fact that there was absolutely nothing he could have done to stop it. It was a feeling of helplessness and Kaito didn't like feeling helpless. Not at all.

He pushed the feelings to the side deal with later, instead focusing on the room. "Where's the tape?"

Shinichi closed the door behind him, making an absent gesture Kaito only saw out of the corner of his eye as he locked the door. "In my bag."

Kaito nodded, kneeling down beside the bag and finding the tape inside. It's film was barely moved, evidence of Shinichi viewing it. He could only imagine what Shinichi had seen, maybe what the detective might have looked like while watching it, but couldn't imagine what he must have felt.

He tightened his grip around the tape, hard enough to hear the plastic give the tiniest of creaks in protest. That bastard was going to pay for this, he wasn't sure how, but they would find some way. There was no way he'd allow that ghost to get _his_ Shinichi again.

Kaito stood up, turning to the entertainment center and reached up to push the tape in. Only to be stopped by Shinichi's hand catching his wrist. He supposed he could have dodged it, the detective had already agreed to destroy it and wasn't going to take it (and if he was going to protest again, he was just going to ignore it), but the look on Shinichi's face made him hesitate and had allowed the other to grab hold of him.

"Don't watch it."

Kaito gave him a half-lidded look. "Whatever's on the tape wasn't you."

Shinichi's hand tightened and Kaito raised his eyebrow and turned the look on Shinichi's hand. It didn't hurt, wasn't even enough to restrain him, but it was almost annoying. "Ba'aro," Shinichi muttered. "The less you see about what happened, the less likely they can incriminate you for anything."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "As if I would get caught for something like that." He gave Shinichi a side long look. "You know that wasn't you, right?"

Shinichi released his hand with a dry look directed at him. "Of course. But..." He paused, eyeing the tape with an guarded look. Something appeared to have occured to him and he was struggling over what to do with it. "Kaito?"

The magician glared at him. Shinichi was wearing his 'doom-and-dispair' face. The one that made Kaito want to both shake him and laugh at him. Tell him he was taking things to seriously, even when wasn't (especially when he wasn't). "If this is another one of those 'let go' comments, don't."

Shinichi got the reference. He glared. "I was right, though, wasn't I?"

Which was beside the point. Kaito looked at him with wary expectantance.

The detective pulled away, letting something slip across his face and Kaito knew, intellectually, that it had to be eating at Shinichi what that Kawa-whatshisname guy had used him like that and he could see that he was clearly supressing. When this was over, he was going to have a long talk with Shinichi about that.

"Promise me if Kawaguchi gets me again, you'll stop me."

Kaito itched to give into that urge to shake Shinichi. His detective wasn't supposed to sound... helpless. Kaito said, instead, "Don't you think that's being over dramatic?" He pulled the tape away from the VCR, watching Shinichi's face contort with irritation.

"I'm being serious."

Kaito shrugged, seeming to pull a screwdriver out of nowhere. "So am I." The second screw was already out when he looked at Shinichi out of the corner of his eye. "Don't get possessed again, and we won't have anything to worry about."

The detective was glaring at him, but it was only half hearted. At least he wasn't giving him that idiotic defeatest look anymore. "You make that sound so easy."

Kaito grinned at him, making a show of popping the back of the tape off and pulling the film from it's holder. "Everything _is_ easy, Shin-chan!" He made a lighter and pair of scissors appear in place of the now empty tape holder. "You just have to change the rules."

Shinichi gave him a long, unreadable stare, one of the ones that Kaito could never be sure what he was thinking. It made him want to do something, anything, to break it whenever he saw it. Finally, Shinichi's face broke into a smug look that was much more familiar. "As if rules apply to you."

Much better. Kaito grinned. "Damn straight." He held up the three items in his hand. "How about we make this disappear, shall we?"

And then they could move on to the real problem: making Kawaguchi Ishimaru disappear. Kaito allowed himself the vicious promise, as he worked towards turning the film to confetti to land, in true artistic form, in a flame he was seemingly spreading in a ring in mid-air, that they were going to make the bastard disappear, this time, _forever_.

-----  
_To Be Continued  
_-----

NEXT: The boys take a trip down to the police station and more shit hits the fan.


	6. A Slow Burning

Chapter Six  
_A Slow Burning  
_-

It wasn't surprising that Ishida-keibu had noticed his absence. The clock hanging behind the front desk of the hotel's room showed that Shinichi had been gone for well around two hours, Kaito somewhere around there as well. Although the latter's absence had more than likely been noticed as well, Shinichi had thought it better they didn't enter together, Kaito slipping in from what ever exit he had used to slip away before while Shinichi walked in the front door.

Ishida looked up from a list he and another officer were pouring over, eyes narrowing as he spotted the detective. "You've been gone a while."

Shinichi already had his cover story ready. Pointing over his shoulder, he stated, "I was searching the parking lot for possible clues. I found the tape, as well, and thought you might appreciate me reporting it straight to you."

The inspector's eyes lit up in such a way that made Shinichi's stomach roll with guilt. He may have agreed with the decision to destroy the tape, but that still didn't mean he was ok with tampering with evidence.

The man turned to the person beside him, one of the many officers that had been combing the room before Shinichi had ducked out. "Keep calling those numbers. If someone refused to come in, take their name and send someone down there." The officer nodded, even if Ishida failed to see it because he was already making his way over to Shinichi.

"Lead the way, Kudo-kun."

Shinichi nodded, keeping in step enough to match the inspector's pace as they headed out into the parking lot. "Was that the list of Akimoto-san's possible enemies?"

Ishida-keibu sent Shinichi a look that stated that he knew that Shinichi already knew the answer to that question. "It's a long list. Some of the names I couldn't even imagine the person committing such a crime." He paused for the briefest of moments, before saying, in an almost after thought, "Can't imagine anyone in the town committing it."

Shinichi itched to tell the inspector just how right he was, but he managed to keep his face straight and his mouth shut. That road only lead to trouble that he didn't have time to deal with.

The young detective lead the inspector to the far left of the parking lot, to a spot out of sight of the police officers and as of yet, had not been inspected by them. They would have gotten to it eventually, but Shinichi was ready to play it off as intuition that had lead him there. "There," he said, indicating the a small rectangular shape, just barely visible under one of the bushes.

Ishida bent down, inspecting the area, but not touching it. "Did you touch this?"

Shinichi snorted derisively, allowing the man to interpret that how he would. Shinichi had touched it plenty, not that they would find his finger prints on it. He had more than enough confidence in Kaito and his ability to wipe objects of any and all prints.

Ishida glared at the teen impatiently over his shoulder as he fished out his walkie-talkie. "Kudo." It was a warning, Shinichi could hear it in the tone. He wanted a flat out yes or no.

Lying to a stranger after spending years lying to the people that knew him the best really was a sort of child's play. "No."

The inspector nodded, clicking his walkie-talkie's mic on. "Tsunemasa, I need you and an evidence bag over on the east side of the parking lot, about-" he glanced over his shoulder, gauging the distance between the hotel entrance and their position, "-a two hundred meters from the hotel. You'll be able see Kudo-kun and I when you get here."

There was a pause after he released the talk button, then, "Roger, Keibu."

Ishida rose to his feet, walking around the area without getting close. "No foot prints." (Shinichi nearly laughed. As if Kaito would leave anything as incriminating as foot prints behind while he was planting the tape.) "Looks like the tape was just tossed over here." He glanced over at Shinichi. "How did you find this anyway?"

The detective made a hand motion towards the parking lot around them. "I deduced that the tape wasn't going to be anywhere in the hotel. Too obvious. Parking lot makes a good dumping site, so I picked a side your people hadn't looked and started from there while I tried to think of something better." Shinichi shrugged. "In other words: I got lucky."

Ishida made an appreciative noise. "Luck must have been shining on you. You've got a good eyes, on top of that, to have spotted that."

Again, Shinichi felt the mildest of stings of guilt at the comment. He really didn't care for lying to the man.

Both men watched as a lanky officer, Tsunemasa, jogged up to them, carrying a bulky camera in one hand and an evidence in other that waved back and forth with the officer's momentum. "Sir."

Ishida nodded at him, indicating the video tape with a nod. Tsunemasa knelt down beside the bushes, pulling his camera in front of him to snap some pictures of the bushes, the ground around the bushes, and the placement of the tape itself. Pulling the camera's strap over his head, he leaned forward and pulled the tape out, pressing the little button-latch to release the covering and inspect at the film inside.

Tsunemasa frowned. "Sir, you should see this."

The keibu stepped over to stand over the kneeling officer's shoulder to peer at the film. He gave a soft swear, pulling the tape out of Tsunemasa's hand to look at the cover. His own frown turned to a snarl.

Shinichi took a spot to Ishida's left, standing close enough to see the tape without looking over his shoulder. He already knew what he was going to see, but it would have been too strange if he didn't look and then let something slip by later. "Most of the film is gone."

The keibu shot him a dark glare, but the teenage detective knew that irritation wasn't directed at him so much as at the object in his hands. Ishida-keibu handed the tape back over to Tsunemasa, who stood and bagged it. "Send it down to the lab," The officer stated as he started back for the hotel. "See if they can find anything on it."

Tsunemasa nodded, bagging and labeling it. He would need to comb the area as well before he could turn the bag and any further evidence in.

"Kudo," Ishida called over his shoulder. "I need you to come with me. We need a statement from you down at the precinct."

Shinichi glanced back at Tsunemasa and the bushes. He could have insisted on staying behind and overseeing the search for any clues left by whoever had left the tape, part of him even wanted to. He had spent too long as a detective to know that there was always _some_ trace left behind, even if it was too obscure to see the bigger picture from by itself, but he also knew who had left the tape behind. It was only under extenuating circumstances that the former illustrious Kaitou Kid had ever left evidence behind, and this was hardly one of those times.

Shinichi turned on his heel and followed behind the inspector back to the hotel.

Hananomachi's police station was an old building made of wood and brick rather than the industrial concrete most newer buildings were made of. The building had age on it, build long before any of even the oldest police officer still on the force had been born. It stood against the test of time, and although parts of it wasn't as old as the others, it still stood.

Shinichi followed the black line of a fire burn on the wall with his eyes as he entered Ishida's office. It had been repaired to a degree, but the burn remained. It looked like it had been made by another burning object falling against it, but the fire had been extinguished before it had done much damage besides leaving a mark.

Ishida glanced at it himself as he stood in the entrance. It was a tick, like the man did it more out of habit than any real interest. Shinichi didn't fail to see the mute pride in the man's eyes as he took the mark - and his office - in. Whatever had happened here had made a mark on the man's life.

"I have some report papers in my desk," Ishida explained, still holding the door open and allowing Kaito to enter behind Shinichi. If the thief was nervous in the least about being in a Police Inspector's office, it didn't show. "I'm sure you know how to fill one out?"

Shinichi gave the man a polite, bland look, like he thought the question wasn't worth answering. Ishida grunted, letting the door swing shut behind him and heading for his desk.

"Just take a seat there," he instructed Shinichi, adding, "There's an extra seat over there for you, Kuroba-kun."

Kaito held up a finger to draw the man's attention. "Actually, I was wondering if you could direct me to the bathroom."

Ishida gave him a tired look. He clearly wondered why Kaito hadn't just asked that before he entered the room. He waved impatiently towards the door as he opened one of his desk's side drawers with the other. "Back down the hall, and just to the left of the entrance. If you need help finding it, just ask one of the officers at the front desk. There's always someone up there."

Shinichi watched Kaito with an inquisitive gaze the moment he was sure Ishida wasn't looking. He knew Kaito had seen the public restrooms when they came in, so why was he asking...?

Kaito caught him watching him, and winked, giving him a quick 'figure-me-out' grin as he exited the room.

Shinichi realized all at once what Kaito was doing and resisted the urge to groan. He supposed Kaito would know what he was doing - had proof, even, he'd done it before on at least one count. He could only hope that the idiot didn't get himself into trouble doing it.

"AHA! There they are!" Ishida exclaimed triumphantly, a broad smile on his face as he held up a pile of papers in his hand like they were the secret answer to all his woes. The inspector glared down at the desk as if it was it's fault it was more than likely a mess (if the rustling of papers and clink of metal and plastic had been anything to go by). "What were these doing under the termination and vacation papers? I know I asked Ichibashi to clean up in here..."

The keibu paused, blinking up at Shinichi, who suddenly had the distinct feeling Ishida had forgotten he was even there for a moment. Ishida cleared his throat, pulling one of the papers free a little harder than necessary and stuffed the rest of them into the drawer where they more than likely would get covered up again.

He clipped it onto a clip board and handed it over to Shinichi. "Fill this out, and I'll be back for it in half an hour. I need to talk to the medical examiner." Ishida worked his way back around the desk as Shinichi took his seat on the other side of it with a desk.

He was almost out the door, when Shinichi asked, "Will the Akimoto's be getting Akimoto-san's body back tomorrow?"

Ishida looked back at him, gauging him again with those ever suspicious eyes. "If my medical examiner doesn't find anything suspicious, we'll be releasing her body to the funeral home the morning."

Shinichi nodded. The faster they got the funeral under way, and Akimoto Haruko was cremated and buried could her family start taking the first steps to picking up the pieces her death had left behind. He was just sorry he could never put her murderer behind bars.

Shinichi barely noticed as Ishida slipped out the door, leaving him to his report. He hardly needed the full thirty minutes to finish it. He barely needed ten. Writing up his witness testimony was terribly easy, especially when he was leaving large amounts of his story out due to being unconscious at the time of the crime and "unaware" of the actions taken during that time. He made sure to make no illusions he had any knowledge of what had happened other than what he had described during his deduction over Akimoto's body.

Shinichi placed the clip board onto Ishida's desk, eyes roving over it without being overly intrusive. The man had too pictures on his desk, one of a woman the inspector's age (a wife?) and a teenager, who, judging from rather telling features that were shared between the woman in the picture and Ishida himself, had to be his daughter. It couldn't be a niece, or there would have been a man in the picture with the woman.

He glazed over the rest of it, coming to rest briefly on the clock. He noted that Kaito had been gone for fifteen minutes now, wondered how much progress he'd made, and couldn't help the brush of worry that he might have been caught. The only reason he knew Kaito hadn't been was because there wasn't enough noise outside the door, and the door wasn't designed to be sound proof enough to muffle sounds if there was a commotion.

His eyes fell on a newspaper, the page turned to some inside page. It was folded to center on a story with the headline: "Real Witches? Or Just Clever Actors?" Intrigued and bored with waiting, Shinichi pulled the paper over to himself, hoping the inspector wouldn't mind his reading the paper as long as he didn't loose his spot.

The article was commenting on a growing number of people in Hananomachi who claimed they practiced real witchcraft. Their leader, Inaba Norime, had commented (quite humbly, if the author did say so, the article said), that she was as surprised as everyone else, but was hardly going to turn her doors away from people who honestly wanted to learn the art. She was always a willing teacher. The article closed up with the author saying that it was only a matter of time before the interest in the religion died off like the latest fad, and the people returned to Buddhism.

Shinichi glanced at the pictures beside the article. One was of the author - Nasu Hidemasu, a 26 year old journalist for the printing company, Chikahisa - and one of Inaba herself. Her little box listed her as 24 and the owner of a shop called Mekura Mahoumado.

Shinichi snorted softly at the name. 'Blind magic window,' it meant. Over dramatic, in his opinion. He wondered if Inaba had come up with the name herself, or if she had come into the shop somehow and had chosen not to change the name.

The turning of the knob caught his attention and he placed the newspaper back in it's place before the door had even left it's frame to open. Ishida entered, looking tired, but relieved. Whatever news he had gotten must not have been helpful, but at least it wasn't bad news. Shinichi raised a curious eyebrow. "Sir?"

Ishida focused on him and then on the two still unmoved seats stacked over in the corner behind the teenage detective. He frowned, obviously bothered by something, but he still answered. "Medical Examiner got the results back from the rape kit. She wasn't touched."

Because Ishida's eyes had fallen to the desk as he came around it to take his seat and inspect Shinichi's report, he failed to see the paling of Shinichi's face. He had completely forgotten about it in the mess of finding out he'd been possessed and a part of him wanting to take Ishida's word for it. His mind hadn't even contemplated that Ishimaru seriously could have used his body to rape that girl.

The slightest of tremors ran down his spine, and he swallowed hard around the acid taste of bile at the back of his throat. It hadn't happened, and he was going to find a way to keep there from ever being a chance for the bastard ghost to try again.

"Oi," Ishida was saying, glaring at the chairs in the corner. He had obviously noticed Kaito hadn't returned. "Where's that friend of yours?"

Shinichi opened his mouth, about to make some excuse involving getting lost and lousy directional senses that he just knew Kaito would have taken offense from once he heard about it, when he was interrupted by the sound of voices just outside the door and the door knob turning again.

The door opened to reveal the teenage magician in question waving to a plain-in-looks, plump woman Shinichi had seen on the way into the police station, who was clutching to a red rose and waving back with a silly smile on her face. Shinichi ran an exasperated hand down his face, able to see Ishida openly gaping out of the corner of his eye.

"You have such a lovely, helpful staff, Ishida-keibu," Kaito said, obviously aware that the woman was still in ear shot (Shinichi could hear her faint giggle as she went around the corner, more than likely back to her desk up front) from the way his grin inched ever closer to his ears. He held up his wallet, which seemed to appear out of no where. "I noticed I dropped my wallet while I was in the bathroom and Sukeme-keiji was nice enough to help me look for it."

The Keibu blinked as if he was trying to wake himself up from what he was sure was a dream (Shinichi wanted to welcome him to his world and tell him that it wasn't as bad as he thought). "Were you flirting with my desk clerk?" Ishida asked, incredulous.

Kaito blinked. "Why wouldn't I? She's a lovely woman." He even sounded like he honestly couldn't fathom why the Inspector wouldn't either.

The Inspector shook his head, as if to clear it, and then gave Shinichi a look that bluntly said that if there was anymore funny business from 'his friend', he would be kicked out.

Shinichi almost told them to try just to enjoy the sheer pleasure of the piteous pout that might have crossed Kaito's face as he allowed himself to be escorted out. As it was, he cleared his throat, and said, "Unless there's anything else, Ishida-keibu, perhaps I could get back to the investigation?"

Ishida gave the paper a look over, a touch of grudging admiration for the quality of the report on his face. He made a pondering noise, before ultimately adding his signature to the bottom saying he had read over it and had approved it. "I have no further questions, Kudo-kun. You can leave, but keep in mind that if you find anything else, I will be told about it."

Shinichi nodded, standing and joining Kaito at the door. Before he could leave, Ishida called out, adding, "Oh, and Kudo-kun?"

Shinichi turned back to the inspector, curious. "Sir?"

Ishida nodded to Kaito. "Make sure your friend doesn't loose anything else in here. I don't need another missing teen in my station."

The expression that crossed Kaito's face was indignant, and Shinichi was already covering his mouth even as he was opening it to retort with something that more than likely wouldn't have been polite or appropriate to say to a police officer. "I'll make sure, sir." He pushed on Kaito, ushering him out the door. "Come along, Kaito. Cases to solve; murderers to catch."

Kaito gave him a dirty look, but didn't resist as he was pushed out into the hallway. Neither said a word until they were out the door (Kaito stopping briefly to thank the desk woman again for helping him find his wallet and to remark that the vase she had found from _somewhere_ was just wonderful with the rose - what good taste she had) and well out of earshot.

"I take it you went down to the forensics office?" Shinichi inquired as they navigated their way back to the main road. They had taken the inspector's car and were in for a bit of a walk back to the hotel. Shinichi was sure if they needed a ride, all they had to do was go back in and ask, but Shinichi wanted to know what Kaito had or hadn't found.

Kaito gave him a side long look, amusement in his eyes. "Oh? What makes you think that? Maybe I really did loose my wallet."

Shinichi rolled his eyes, but he was always up to one of Kaito's games. "Perhaps. But I would bet there's a possibility you came out of the bathroom, distracted the desk lady with your charm and the story of misplacing your wallet." Shinichi placed his hands in his pocket, seemingly looking everywhere but at Kaito, who was doing a valiant job of hiding any tell-tale signs Shinichi was onto something.

"It was then, while she was out of sight of her desk, you came back and disguised yourself as her, took the papers she had obviously forgotten to take down to forensics, and took the chance to see if they had found my DNA on any of Akimoto's person." Shinichi turned to Kaito directly. "By the way, _did_ they find anything?"

Kaito stared at him for a long moment, truly a touch annoyed, and it was all Shinichi needed to see that he was right on at least most of his deduction. He doubted Kaito was about to tell him if he missed anything just out of sheer spite that Shinichi had figured it out. "Just an unidentified male's hair. It was black, and I couldn't be sure it was your's or not." Despite his annoyance, there was most definitely a spark of mischief in his eyes. "I made sure to swipe it and leave another similar one in it's place."

Shinichi wanted to ask why Kaito carried spare black hairs on his person, but decided to leave it for later. Warily, because he just knew that the poor forensic scientist was in for a nasty surprise if Kaito's grin was any indication, he asked, "What kind of hair did you switch it with?"

"Just some black ape's hair. I have one's in orange and brown as well." Kaito paused, looking skyward as he made a contemplative noise. "Never had to use the brown one before, but I did have to dye the orange one blond once."

Shinichi had the distinct suspicion that Hakuba Saguru was more than likely involved in that particular incident and made a vow to ask either him, or Kaito's childhood friend, Nakamori Aoko, for the details when they returned from their vacation. It stood to reason that whoever was involved had not been particularly happy with Kaito afterwards.

They walked and chatted for a while afterwards, filling the time with various topics ranging from the case to random nonsense, but Shinichi knew that Kaito was dancing around something he really wanted to ask. Shinichi could always tell when he was dancing around a topic and how much privacy he wanted before he would talk about it - if he did. Kaito would surreptitiously glance around, eyes flickering around the area, pausing only long enough to get a feel of how many people were around and what they were doing. It was only when he felt it time, and only then, would he do it.

Unless Shinichi prodded him. The detective glanced around himself. It was still fairly early in the afternoon, most of the townsfolk were still at work, and those that weren't, were maybe three, maybe four people, all sticking to their own business. None of them paid them any attention as they passed. The children were most certainly still in school.

"You can ask."

Kaito turned his head just enough he could look at Shinichi and still see where he was going. The teen magician watched him for a moment, before, carefully, responded with, "I'm not going to ask if you don't want to tell me."

Shinichi shrugged. He was still just marveling that Kaito had even given his story the time of day, let alone that he believed him. He was pretty sure he would have told him anything at that point, he was so relieved. "I don't mind."

Kaito nodded, looking at the road ahead, but remaining otherwise silent. Shinichi could see him pondering his words as carefully as he had chosen his other response. Finally, he seemed to settle on something, turning his head around to look at him again. "How long have you been able to see them?"

Generic question. Basic. Shinichi was fairly certain it was everyone's first question after they decided they believed. It wasn't a bad starting place either. He gave the buildings around him another once over, double checking there was no one to over hear them. "I'm not sure when I started seeing them. But I was twelve when I noticed I could see things other people couldn't."

He could still remember that day, crystal clear in his mind as the day it happened. He was sure that even without his ridiculously good memory he would have always remembered it. "Ran and I were out with Sonoko and a few of their friends. They'd insisted I come along with them." Shinichi frowned at the memory. Sonoko had played dirty, saying it was what Ran had wanted. Even at the age of twelve, before he even truly knew what love was, he knew he couldn't deny Ran much of anything, even spending time with her girly friends.

Too bad Ran hadn't a clue he was coming along until he got there. He'd realized that Sonoko had lied just minutes before Ran had confirmed it. Turned out the blond had tried playing match maker again.

Shinichi pulled himself from the memory and delved into later on in the memory. "We were out walking home and there was a man staggering down the street, with a knife wound. When I tried to get to tell a lady on her cell phone about it, that someone needed to call for help, everyone had insisted there wasn't any man."

He could still remember the frustration and irritation he had felt that day. He had clearly seen the man, he had insisted, why couldn't they. "No one believed me, and when I looked for him later, I couldn't find him. I'd nearly convinced myself I had been seeing thing - too many mystery novels - when they found the man's body. He had been dead long before I saw him."

"I did some research after that, on ghosts. I didn't believe any of it for a long time, but the more I started noticing them, the more they started noticing me. Before I knew it, if there was a ghost on the scene, they could find me." And they would, always would, whether he wanted them too or not.

Kaito was looking at him full on, having turned himself around completely so that he was walking backwards and able to look at Shinichi completely. There was curiosity in his eyes, but no disbelief. Just the need to understand and the patience to wait until Shinichi was ready to give what he could. Still, there was a darkness, and anger, in there too, and Shinichi knew what he was going to ask before he did. "Has there ever been a ghost like this Kawaguchi?"

Shinichi couldn't, quite, suppress the slight shiver that ran up his spine. "No." Thank god. He didn't know what he would have done if there had been. "None of them has ever tried. They've gotten angry, but they've never been able to affect anything around them." He paused, hands twisting into fists before releasing. "Or me."

Kaito paused long enough for Shinichi to catch up with him before he pivoted to face forward again. Reaching out, he tugged Shinichi's hand from his pocket, gripping it and entwining their fingers. The detective blinked down at their joined limbs. It wasn't unusual for Kaito to be affectionate in public, in fact, this was a quite tame gesture, but it surprised him regardless. Kaito squeezed his hand and Shinichi realized it was for support. A small swell of appreciation and affection settled itself in his chest, and for once, he gladly accepted it without any fuss.

"Have you told anyone? Surely Ran-san noticed something?" Kaito continued. He was obviously unhappy with the Ishimaru subject, but there was nothing they could do about that, yet. Shinichi suspected he was moving the subject onto other points to avoid getting frustrated.

Shinichi was all too happy to let him. "Ran hates supernatural stuff. I don't think she could could have handled learning ghosts are real." He shook his head, pausing before giving an answer long enough for them to look both ways before crossing the street to get to the desired side of the main street they wanted to be on for that leg of the journey. "I haven't told anyone, not even my parents."

Kaito actually stopped, Shinichi being forced to do so too, or leave his hand behind. The magician was giving him a bewildered look, as if his answer had been the last thing he'd expected to hear. "No one?" His tone only added to his image of confusion. "Then..." Kaito frowned, as if he were trying to work out the combination of an extremely challenging safe's lock. "Why did you tell me?"

Shinichi had to look away, face flushing with embarrassment. He was suddenly acutely aware of the point of contact between them and the heat of Kaito's hand in his, almost made unbearable by the heat around him, but still tolerable. He had never been good with his emotions, even if he had never been one to pretend he didn't know what he felt. It was perhaps only because Kaito asked, and it was Kaito that had, that he said, more of a mumble than anything, "I would have... lost you."

He could live without Kaito (had always been partially prepared for the day he might walk away), but that hadn't meant that he would have done so happily or willingly. Certainly not if he could help it.

Kaito's eyes widened, something unreadable behind them. "There was the possibility I wouldn't have believed you," he pointed out. Shinichi thought he saw a bit of worry, but he couldn't be sure what it was for.

"I would have, for sure, if I hadn't." Shinichi's words were final, and completely without regret. Telling his secret had been his fight to save this. A desperate one, but one nonetheless.

The gratitude was unmistakable, along with the respect. Kaito squeezed his hand, grinning, and saying, "Thank you."

Leaning closer, as they started their trek back again, Kaito nudged his shoulder. "You'll tell me, from now on, when you see them, right?"

Shinichi raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't know if that was such a great idea, but wasn't about to say no off the bat. "Do you really want to know they're there, even if you can't see them?" It was a dilemma and paranoia he had had when he forced into shrinking back to his prepubesent years as Conan. It was both a blessing and a curse, to be unable to see them again, but know they were behind the drops in temperature everyone just shrugged off as unusual and maybe mildly creepy, but nothing to be concerned about.

Kaito's gave him a hard look, resolute and completely without question. "It would be worse to wonder and not know."

Shinichi nodded, able to accept that. It would be odd, telling someone, but he could do it. He wasn't alone in this anymore, and even if Kaito couldn't completely understand - he couldn't without seeing them, and Shinichi prayed he never would - he could still offer support.

They walked in silence, a thought nagging at Shinichi's conscious thoughts to pay attention to it. A half-forgotten memory, he'd pushed to the back of his mind and had laid dormant until then. It was something he had sworn he would tell Kaito if - never when, only if - he ever told the magician and he believed him. Now that that moment had come, he still wasn't sure he should mention it, not yet, when everything was still so new, but he had wanted to say if for _years_.

"Kaito?"

The magician glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes. "Hm?"

Slowly, with the same care, more even, that Kaito had given his first question, Shinichi gave to his next statement. "I saw him. Once."

If Kaito had any confusion over who 'him' could possibly be, it didn't show. The pause before he answered was too long for him to even pretend he didn't have an inkling. Shinichi thought it was the first time in a long time, he had seen his partner look that apprehensive about a question. "You saw...?"

"Your father."

Kaito seemed to close up and become vulnerable all at once. Shinichi knew what the man had meant to him, in life. He was both Kaito's biggest inspiration, inner strength, and deepest wound.

Kaito's eyes searched his, trying to see how serious he was. The hope in them was unmistakable, but so was his fear. It was almost heartbreaking. Kaito looked as if he were both thrilled to have another chance to talk - or hear from - his father, but at the same time, he didn't want to. Shinichi supposed it was the dilemma of unfinished business.

"Did... Did he say anything?"

Shinichi suddenly wished he had waited until they were somewhere much more private. He didn't want anyone else witness to this moment. It wasn't their's to see. He couldn't keep the ball from rolling now that he'd started it, and he wasn't sure he could bear to ask Kaito to wait until they reached their room to continue. "No."

Kaito stared at him for a long moment. His disappoint was so consuming, he seemed to wilt into himself, his Poker Face unable to hide all of it. Even someone that didn't know him as well as Shinichi did surely could have seen it.

Shinichi realized, almost immediately after he said it, how that was taken, and scrambled to fix his error, wanting to kick himself. "They can't speak, remember?" He paused, considered, added, "Or I can't hear them. He couldn't say anything to me, because one of us was lacking an ability." It was something he had never questioned, and a large part of him was glad they couldn't talk to him, even if they could talk. He didn't want to hear them whenever they wanted. "Didn't stop him in the least from getting me a message."

Kaito was watching him and Shinichi was suspicious he wasn't breathing. Impulsively, the detective raised his hand to the magician's throat, pressing the fingers to the pulse and murmured, "Breathe. Can't tell you anything if you pass out, ba'aro."

Kaito snorted, but he did indeed take a breath, and then another, and then another, raising his free hand to press and trap Shinichi's hand in place. Assured that Kaito wasn't about to keel over over from lack of oxygen, Shinichi continued, eyes locking with his partners and holding them. "The dead, when they die, have everything on them as a ghost. Always." Kaito's father had had almost half his act still on him. He would never, as long as he lived, tell Kaito that he was suspicious he had even had a disguise or two on him.

He had seen the pictures, read the reports. There was no way Kuroba Toichi would have looked that good after taking an explosion. And yet, he didn't even looked touched by it. Toichi-san had explained, in a way, that he wanted never to be remembered like that.

"He said all this with _fireworks and yoyos_, mind you," Shinichi gave him a exasperated look at this. It had been strange to see the entire display completely without sound the entire time and without a trace left behind afterwards.

Kaito laughed a little, the noise sounding like someone who hand just remembered something they had forgotten a long, long time ago. "You should have seen him with his full arsenal. Tousan once gave Kaasan an entire sonnet through a trained monkey and a half eaten banana." He paused, thoughtful. As an after thought he added, "It turned out Tousan was the one that had eaten it, not the monkey."

Shinichi could believe it. He never had told Kaito were he really learned about his fish fear but the explanation had involved flowers, three juggling balls, and a hula-hoop ring. He still boggled at that one. Where had the man even been _hiding_ the ring?

"He didn't want for you to ever find out his secret the way you did. He was going to tell you, one day, but when you were older. Even jokingly mentioned that he had even planned to take you out to terrify the police, just for one heist, if you had wanted."

Kaito blinked at him. "Tousan would have let me dress up as Kid willingly?" He seemed to ponder the pros and cons of this, a devious grin lighting his face and Shinichi could almost see the idea and all it's possibilities running through his head. "Nakamori-keibu would have had a stroke."

Shinichi was sure _he_ would have had a stroke. Hakuba too. The original Kaitou Kid, in all his glory, with his heir at his side, causing mass chaos at a heist. He'd actually had that nightmare, once, after Toichi-san had mentioned it. He was fairly certain it was one of the worst nightmares he'd ever had.

"Did he mention anything about... what he thought of all this?" Kaito asked. Shinichi knew Kaito was asking what his father's opinion was. He boggled that he could ever doubt that the man's opinion would be anything other than it had been.

"He made sure I told you how proud he was of you." Shinichi could remember the fatherly pride in the man's grin. Remembered the exact moment he realized where Kaito got a great deal of his quirks from and how much, even after all these years, he was his father's son. "That he loved you, and Nyoko-san very much." He had to pause here, the next line hadn't made much sense to him, and he couldn't exactly have asked Nyoko about it. "He also wanted me to tell you... that he wasn't angry. Disappointed, but not angry. It wasn't your fault and he found the ring at the studio."

Shinichi was alarmed by the effect the statement had on Kaito. The magician froze, as if he had been turned to ice, and beneath his fingers, he could feel Kaito's pulse fluttering and he would have thought Kaito was holding his breath again, if he couldn't see the slight rise in Kaito's shoulders as he breathed.

Shinichi squeezed their hands, trying to coax Kaito out of wherever in his mind he had accidenly sent him. "Kaito?"

"His wedding ring. I lost it the night before the show. That last show." Kaito's voice came out low and in a rush. Shinichi could hear the guilt deep beneath the surface, old and still burning and he thought Kaito's eyes glistened more. He wished again for the privacy the main road seriously lacked, and was thankful there was no cars passing. "I was trying out my slight of hand, and I choose the ring. Dad congratulated me on doing it successfully, but got pulled away before I could give it back to him."

Kaito focused on Shinichi, but he still seemed lost in the memory. The look on his face was of someone who was trying to get someone to understand how sorry he was. "He was gone for _five minutes_ and I managed to loose it. I thought he was angry with me."

Kaito's eyes searched his, suddenly hungry for something Shinichi couldn't quite guess. Redemption? Answers? Both? He wasn't sure. "Did he say were in the studio he found it? What happened to it?"

Shinichi frowned, trying to remember if the topic had come up. He shook his head, suddenly regretful that he hadn't thought to ask, even if he would have had no idea what he was asking about. "He never said."

Kaito nodded, but Shinichi thought he looked somehow more... relieved. The detective wondered again, how he could know so much about his boyfriend, and yet he had never had even the slightest clue that Kaito had been carrying that guilt with him. Shinichi dreaded to think that Toichi had died with Kaito thinking he was still angry at him. Regretted he hadn't mentioned it sooner that Toichi _wasn't_.

Kaito shook himself. He looked around, as if trying to put himself back together and wake himself from his thoughts. Shinichi gave him all the time he needed. When Kaito turned back to him, it was as if he had never been on the brink of what looked like tears. Shinichi tightened his grip on the hand in his, and was assured by the return squeeze.

"Is he still around?"

Shinichi shook his head. "He only came that night, because he wanted to see you one last time, before he passed on. You found the Pandora Gem, and avenged his death. He had no more reason to stay."

The detective could see, in his mind's eye, the man in his white suit so much like Kid's, but not, leaning over his sleeping son to press a ghostly kiss to his forehead, mouthing that he loved him and something about taking his time and Toichi was waiting for him. Kaito had mumbled something about the air conditioner and Shinichi but he hadn't woken up. There had been a moment of mutual amusement before Shinichi had remembered, at that exact moment, that Kaito's _father_ was standing beside the bed, and Shinichi was in _bed_ with his _son_ and they were both _completely naked_.

That had given Toichi-san a laugh. He had literally thrown his head back and his laughter would have woken the whole house, if anyone could have heard him. It had just made Shinichi blush harder and want to bury deep down under the covers and never come out again. Of all the ways Shinichi could have envisioned that Toichi-san would have found out about his relationship with Kaito - if the opportunity ever came up - that was most definitely not on his list of possibilities.

Which reminded him. "He approved of this." Shinichi pulled up their joined hands, raising a single finger and waving both their hands so that the finger pointed to them both. "Of us."

Kaito's lips parted, a corner raising up in a incredulous grin. "You told him about us?" Shinichi thought he sounded ridiculously pleased by this. The detective may not have the slightest clue what it would be like to loose a family member like Kaito had, but he had seen enough movies and read enough books were one of a couple would wish their deceased loved ones could meet their significant other and/or see their family. Kaito had probably thought of it sometime, too.

Shinichi couldn't look him in the eye, the sheer embarrassment swelling up all over again. He murmured something about not having to.

Kaito blinked, confused. He looked a little lost. "Then how...?"

"..e...ed," Shinichi mumbled.

"What?"

"...We were in bed. After coming home party."

The magician paused, the implications sinking in. There had been a coming home party for Kaito being released from the hospital in which he had dragged Shinichi off to his bedroom afterwards and it had been the first night that Shinichi had officially slept with his boyfriend as Kuroba Kaito and not as Kaitou Kid.

Kaito blinked at him again, before bursting into laughter. "He saw us!"

Shinichi glared at him. He hardly found it that funny. "Yes. You were clinging, even in you _sleep_," he ground out through his gritted teeth and was further annoyed when it only made Kaito laugh harder. He couldn't help the smile of his own, though, Kaito's laughter contagious and tempting him to at least partake in the fun a little.

Kaito laughed until he was leaning against Shinichi, the laughter both sad and joyous, all at once, like Kaito was purging his soul of so many fears and regrets and unfinished business. Shinichi braced himself, taking most of the magician's weight as the teen nearly laughed himself to the ground. The detective patiently held on, his own heart feeling so much lighter. He felt almost giddy even.

He wasn't expecting - whole minutes later, when Kaito had finally recovered himself enough to stand again - the kiss. He could feel Kaito's hands at the base of his skull, feel his own coming up to rest on the magician's waist and pull him in closer to deepen the kiss before they had to break apart for air. Kaito still hung on, pressing their foreheads together as he murmured, "Thank you. Thank you" over and over again. Shinichi thought he even heard a 'love you' in there too.

For a moment, a long, long moment, they both forgot where they were and what was going on around them. The world simply feel away for a time and Shinichi could only think of the young man in his arms and how wonderful if felt that his curse could make someone this happy when all it had ever brought him was pain and horror.

And then, just like that, a car passed, coming close enough they could feel the wind as it passed them at some illegal speed, and the moment was broken. Even as Kaito stepped away and both began the journey back again, neither felt inclined to release the other's hand nor did they say anything, content in the silence and each other's presence.

Just a ways up the road, the hotel was quickly coming into to view. The parking lot, mostly empty of people except the occasional police officer, was easily noticable even from that distance. Shinichi wasn't surprised to see the number of cars, the ones that belonged to customers, still lingering in the parking lot even with the police's arrival and a murderer running around the area hadn't decreased in the least. People were attracted to tragidy like moths to the flame, after all.

As they stepped into the parking lot, Shinichi reached into his back pocket and, despite the use of only one hand, was able to fish out the credit card he wanted and put his billfold away. Kaito watched the whole thing, curiously.

"The room needs to be extended, and last night needs to be paid for," Shinichi explained as he held out the card for Kaito to take.

The magician gave it an odd look, but took it anyway. "Why can't you do it?"

Shinichi gestured in the general direction of where they'd parked. "There's something I need to check. I shouldn't be long." He gave Kaito a side long look. "Might as well get the room rented and both of us a shower."

Kaito snorted and smiled slightly at that. He looked like he could really go for a shower about then, and a little down time before they tackled what to do about Ishimaru. Still, he looked reluctant. "Are you sure you want to go alone?"

Shinichi glared at him. "I'm not completely helpless. I don't need to be watched all the time, and I'm only going to the car." With his free hand, he pointed his thumb at his collar. "I'm still wearing the tracer. If I go missing again, you'll know right away."

Kaito gave him a glare of his own. "That's not good enough, Shinichi. What if he does get you again?"

The detective sighed in exasperation. "I won't live my life in fear of this." He looked Kaito in the eye, made sure Kaito was really looking. "You can't either. If something goes wrong, or if I see him, I'll shout for the police, call you - something. There's someone around _somewhere_."

Kaito was silent for a long, long moment. Shinichi was suspicious he might protest again, but the magician merely pulled his hand free and used it to point a finger at him. "You better call for help, or I'll kill you myself."

Shinichi snorted, stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to leave. "I promised, already, ba'aro. I won't forget."

Shinichi could feel Kaito's eyes on him even as he heard the sound of him walking towards the front of that building. "Don't take too long, Shin-chan~" Kaito called, just loud enough for Shinichi to hear, but not anyone else in the parking lot. "That shower _is_ big enough for two!"

The detective groaned and ran a hand down his face, ignoring the comment. He swore his boyfriend must think of sex more than he did, and they were both guys, for pete's sake!

He never said he didn't think the idea wasn't a good one, though. Let Kaito wonder until he got back.

The car he was looking for was parked nine or ten lanes over. Quite the distance from the entrance and the majority of the people, but there was still the odd police officer in the lot. Shinichi wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed that the rental was still exactly where he left it. He could see it, even from a lane over. He was fairly certain it hadn't been moved at all, even if he considered the possiblity that it had been moved and then brought back to the same space.

It had been a wild shot to begin with. Ishimaru was a ghost from the 1800s. Maybe late 1800s, but still. The major transportation throughout the 1800s had been powered by horses. Ishimaru wouldn't know how to power a car. He wasn't even sure the ghost grasped the concept of the machine's existance even if it had to have seen them out there in the lot.

Truefully, the only reason he thought of the car was because Ishimaru had known about the video surviellance. Televisions hadn't even come to Japan, seriously, until over a hundred years after Ishimaru had been born and died, the surviellance even further, and yet, somehow, it had know how to operate the equiptment and aquire the tape. It had understood that it could be used against it and had even gone and taken the time to hid the tape.

Ishimaru had had access to his keys the same as the key card. There was the remote possibility it might have had access to the car as well.

Shinichi pulled his keys out, looking around the lot as he put the key into the trunk and popped the lock. One of the officers was heading in, but there was still two behind him. Anymore went in and he would be taking too much of a risk to be out here alone.

Lifting the trunk's door, Shinichi peered into it, looking for any signs of disturbance. Tools were still in place. The bed hadn't been moved. Their camping geer had rolled around, which wasn't a surprise, but it was still tied up and looking like it had when he'd packed it days ago. Everything seemed just fine to him.

He pulled himself free of the door and let it shut, making sure that it was latched all the way. If Ishimaru had used the car, it hadn't used the trunk. Backseat then?

Shinichi was heading around to the driver's seat when he heard the crunch in the gravel littering the road. For a moment, an image of Ishimaru, hands out stretched towards him, flashed in his mind and he had to remind himself that ghosts _couldn't_ make sound. Didn't even walk really.

Not to mention it was still far, far too hot for a ghost to be around.

Shinichi looked up from the car, searching out who had made the noise. He found the woman just coming around the car two down from the rental. Shinichi blinked as he recognized her, confused as to what she could possibly be doing out here, in the parking lot.

"Amago-san," Shinichi greeted, unlocking the door but leaving it be for the moment as he turned his full attention to Tadae. "What are you doing out here?" He hoped that hadn't sounded rude, but she really shouldn't have seperated from her family, certainly not to come talk to him.

Alone.

Shinichi looked around the parking lot again, a sense of foreboding coming over him. The police was still out, not looking ready to go in yet, but they were too far away to do anything if Ishimaru showed up and made a go for Tadae. Shinichi's grip on the handle tightened at the thought. He would have to think of an excuse to move them inside and look at the car later.

Tadae came to stand at the foot of the car. She was pale, her eyes still red hours after she had stopped crying, and she looked like she would burst into tears with even the mere mention of the wrong word. Her voice was thin, but Shinichi could easily hear the determination he could see in her eyes in her voice. "Have you found any leads?"

Ah, of course that was why she was here. That swell of guilt made itself known, despite Shinichi's attempts to push it down. "The police will tell you the moment there's any new developments-"

The woman gave a sort of half dry sob, like she was trying to hold it back, but didn't quite manage it. Her hand flew to her mouth to further silence it, but it was already out. Shinichi felt for her, really he did, but human tears at a crime scene did little to move him anymore.

"I thought..." She sniffled, dabbed at her eyes with the top of her shirt. Judging from how ruffled it was, this was the cloth of choice she had been using to wipe her tears with since she'd heard the news. "I thought, since you weren't with the police, you might tell me something. They just keep telling me the same thing, over and over again!"

She took a step toward him, imploring him. "Please, Kudo-san. I know how good a detective you are. Surely you've found something. Have _some_ theory?"

His pride railed against the restraint his self preservation had put it under. It wanted to tell her, tell everyone, that he had the entire thing - except for one minor detail - figured out and wasn't he a clever, little detective? But his self preservation, although not what he wished it was at times, was holding on by it's teeth. It had grown stronger than his pride over the time he'd spent as Conan.

His face was impassive. He could feel the mask settle over his face as he steeled himself to answer her. "I'm sorry, Amago-san. There hasn't been any leads."

She wilted, her legs shaking as if she were about to drop to her knees. "Nothing?" she murmured. "Nothing at all? But..." She blankly at the car as if she wasn't really seeing it. "Why are you out here instead of trying to catch her killer? Isn't that what you do?"

Shinichi looked at the car himself. He mulled over the pros and cons of telling her his theory. It would be massively edited and he would have to leave his doubts and the reasons for his doubts out, but he supposed it wouldn't hurt. It might do his own ego some good and assure Tadae he was, indeed, trying to figure out the last pieces of the murder.

"The hotel's office, over there." He pointed to the doors, and it appeared that it was more by instinct than real interest that Tadae followed his hand to the doors. "Is over a mile's distance from the point in the road the killer used to access the river. Its too far for anyone one to carry a single body, even of Akimoto-san's height and build, let alone two bodies."

Granted there had only been one body to carry, and he was physically fit. He had to be if he had a prayer of keeping up with a fleeing criminal. But not even he could have carried Akimoto the mile to the closest place to access the river from the hotel. He had no doubt Ishimaru had tried. He could feel the ache in the muscles in his arms, dull, but there, from having tried and over excerted them by carrying something too heavy for their capacity.

Ishimaru had to have used some sort of transportation, but _what_? What would a ghost from the 19th centry with at least mild modern day knowledge use to transport a body?

Shinichi gently tapped the glass of the rental's driver's seat window with the knuckles on his left hand. The keys clinked, but didn't touch the window. "This leads to the conclusion that the killer had to have had transportation. It's likely he or she had their own vehicle, but clues have come up to suggest that the culprit has been through my things. My wallet and my key card were moved, so were my keys. It's not so far out a theory that he or she might have used my car as transportation."

Tadae seemed to mull this over. He could see the moment she accepted the explaination, as she began peering through the window as if she could see any clues, just like that. "You mean, there might be hairs or finger prints of the criminal's in there?"

She had been watching criminal shows it seemed like. It was a common jump in logic. It wasn't wrong either, so to speak. His finger prints and hairs would be all over the place. The question was, would there be proof that Akimoto had been in there?

Shinichi nodded in approval. "I'm attempting to see if I can find any evidence of tampering. The culprit may have had my keys, but I have reason to believe he or she didn't know how to drive a car."

She blinked at him, an eye brow raising up. Confusion was clear on her face and in the way she fiddled with her hands as if she wanted to do something with them, but wasn't sure what. "You... can tell the culprit doesn't know how to drive?" She even sounded a bit incredulous.

Shinichi wondered if it was because she couldn't fathom how he had the knowledge or because she couldn't imagine someone not being able to drive. Another common misconception about the adults in the world. More legally able adults didn't drive than she probably gave credit for.

The detective opened the driver's door and reached in and pulled up on the button to unlock all four doors. Task done, he peered into the car, leaning in to examine the seat and general area. If someone who had never been in the driver's seat before (at least, he was still working on the assumption that he was the first person to be possessed by Ishimaru and the ghost hadn't taken driving lessons during that time. He really needed to ask about any strange behaviour over the last 150 years, now that he thought about it), there should be signs.

Hell, even if somehow, Ishimaru did have knowledge, there should be even more signs. He would have had no reason to move the seat; he was using Shinichi's body, and the seat was set to his comfort level. By default, it would be Ishimaru's too. The mirror, though, would have been moved. Shinichi always adjusted it, minutely, whenever he got in, because he never sat in the chair the same way twice in a row. The wheel, too, would be in a different position. No one ever pulled into a parking spot, even the same parking spot, the exact same way.

Shinichi looked them over, finding nothing different. It was beginning to look like Ishimaru, indeed, hadn't been in the car. It was both relieving and worrisome, because he still didn't know how Ishimaru had moved Akimoto.

He backed out of the car, shutting the door and motioning for Tadae to give him access to the back seat. She moved without complaint, watching patiently to see if this endevour would produce any immediate results.

The back seat didn't have any obvious hairs. Akimoto's hair was long enough that any strand of it would be easily differentiated from his or Kaito's. He was looking for any sign that the various nick-nack tools for when it rained or snowed that came with the car and were stowed on the ground had been overly disturbed. He wasn't surprised when he didn't find any.

Behind him, he could just hear the rustle of Tadae moving about, and the rustle of her cloths. He thought he could hear her muttering about winds and chills but it didn't immediately penetrate the detective fog he was in, and coupled with him not feeling anything but the dangerously high temperatures inside the car it took him a moment to think about it.

Shinichi blinked, allowing her comment to sink in. Wind? Chill? There was no reason for it to be cold out, unless-

He nearly hit his head, jerking out of the car to stand and search the area. Tadae was right. This was too cold for any winds at this time of year. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky, and that could only mean- There. Standing by the car Tadae had come around when she had first approached him.

Ishimaru. Grinning and watching them.

No. That wasn't right. He was watching _her_.

Shinichi cursed himself. Dammit, why hadn't he sent her inside right away? The car was a dead end, he had almost known that from the beginning, even if he had to search it to exclude it. It was a fool's decision to actually explain it too her, giving in, in a way, to her need for some sort of comfort, however frivolous, and now, there was the killer, right there.

Shinichi didn't want to take his eyes off Ishimaru, but he needed to know if the cops where still out. Needed to know what the situation was really like.

He wanted to throw his hands up in the air in frustration when he noticed that the two police officers had moved inside. Of _course_ they would be alone in the parking lot, over 400 meters from any hotel room - including his own, which Kaito had had plenty of time to reach and more than likely start his shower - at a time like this.

Shinichi reigned in his panic. He wasn't helpless, not completely. He still had his cell phone on him. But first, he needed to get Tadae to leave.

"Amago-san?" He returned his eyes to Ishimaru, who hadn't moved. Yet. "I need you to go find one of the officers."

She tilted her head, he could see it out of the corner of his eye, but didn't seem in any hurry to do as he asked. "Did you find anything?"

It would hurt his reputation to claim he had when he knew there was nothing there, but this wasn't the time to worry about that. Her life was more important and she would get killed, no question, if she stayed. "Yes, I think I did. Here." He handed her his keys. "Tell them I asked if someone could fingerprint it and look for hairs. They might find something."

He wondered if she had heard anything in his voice. She was looking back and forth between the spot he was staring at and at him, clearly able to tell something was wrong but unable to see what. She frowned, taking the keys. "Why can't you tell them yourself, Kudo-san? Did you notice something?"

Oh, for the love of-! Shinichi grit his teeth. Couldn't she just go, already? He was getting that horror movie feeling again, where he wanted to start yelling at the people to stop being idiots and just _run_ already. Ishimaru seemed amused with her lingering, and Shinichi swallowed hard as the ghost turned its eyes on him.

"Something like that." He stepped back and around Tadae, putting the car between them. It also put another car between him and Ishimaru. "Please, Amago-san. This could be important."

It was the best he could do short of convincing her there was either a murderous ghost after her or that he was stark raving mad and dangerous himself.

Finally, finally, she seemed to get the message. She gave him one last odd look, but started off back to the hotel office. Shinichi wanted to groan when she decided to _walk_, despite the urgency he had fabricated for the task.

He'd just have to buy her time. If that was possible. Ishimaru had its eyes on her, watching her until it couldn't without turning its head. It turned those white, white eyes back to Shinichi, mouthing, saying, _There's still so much time_.

Shinichi reached into his back pocket, mind racing to find a way past Ishimaru and back to any populated area. His cellphone was out in an instant, his fingers hitting Kaito's cellphone number off speed dial without ever taking his eyes off Ishimaru.

The phone rang once. Ishimaru narrowed its eyes at the device. Shinichi wondered, with a touch of alarm, if it had ever seen one before.

The phone rang twice. Kaito must have decided to not wait for him. Probably thought he got caught up in a clue. His partner really did know him too well, he thought with a minor cring.

Third time. Ishimaru apparently _did_ know what these were - my, my, what all did this odd spirit know? - and had just moved through the car to get closer. It was biding its time. To see who he was calling?

Fourth time. One more ring and the answering machine would pick up and he'd have to hang up and dial again. Maybe that was the moment Ishimaru was waiting for? It was smart, chillingly so, of the ghost. There would be a few seconds between hanging up and dialing that he would be completely alone.

_Pick up, Kaito!_

Halfway through the fifth ring, the phone picked up. "Shinichi! Where are you? I was just about done with the shower-"

"He's here."

Kaito broke off. Shinichi could hear his cursing on the other end. There was a rustle static of the phone moving around accompanied by the clattering of something hitting something else. "Where are you?"

"The parking lot, by the rental." Shinichi took a step back, not daring to take his eyes off Ishimaru to see how close Tadae was to the hotel office. If the ghost wanted to kill her, it'd have to do it soon. Its window of oppurtunaty was slowly, but surely closing. And Shinichi was no closer to any immediate help.

Ishimaru positioned itself between Shinichi and his hotel room door. Experimentally, Shinichi moved to his left and was grimly unsurprised to see the ghost do the same, even as it put the ghost partially _in_ the car.

The cars were no protection from Ishimaru. It could move through them at any time. The only hope Shinichi had was to make it as hard as possible for if - or, god help him, when - Ishimaru took him for the ghost to get to Tadae. "Kaito?"

There was a pause in the sound of cloth moving, most likely Kaito trying to hurry and get dressed. "What?"

"Bring something to restrain me." Ishimaru had gone through another car, even as he had put another between them and Tadae. Even as he spoke, the ghost passed through that car too, and was, right then, only one car away.

More cursing, this time at Shinichi. "Baka! You are not going to let yourself get possessed."

That was the plan, yes, not getting possessed, but it didn't look like he had a choice, dammit. The ghost could go through the cars, _he couldn't_. "Just get out here. We're in the next lane- _ow_!"

The phone suddenly sparked, hissing as it seemed to fry from the inside out. The sparks licked at his skin, burning. Not enough to leave more than a red mark, but enough to hurt. Shinichi dropped it, instinctively, baffled as to what happened until he remembered that ghosts, in their anger, could short out electrical appliances. He glanced at the phone, aggravated that Ishimaru had more than likely ruined it on top of everything else.

He shouldn't have looked away, he realized, too late. He had allowed himself to be distracted, and that was all the ghost needed.

The last thought he had was that if Tadae wasn't back to the hotel office by now, she wasn't going to make it.

-_  
To Be Continued  
_-

NEXT: Kaito makes a deal with the devil (or at least, the next best thing) and Shinichi takes some down time.


	7. A Thaw of Anxiety

AN: Sorry for the late update everyone. Life has been kicking my butt in one way or another lately, and it's still doing so. XD

AN 2: Before anyone asks, no, chapter seven was not posted twice, I just wrote the wrong chapter title for chapter six (whoops, LOL). Anyway, it's all fixed now. &heart

Chapter Seven  
_A Thaw of Anxiety  
-_

Kaito scowled at his pants, nearly ripping the button off them in his haste to get them on.

He had long since stopped paying any attention to the words coming out of his mouth. It was nonsense anyway. Cursing Ishimaru for targeting Shinichi. Shinichi for talking him into letting him go _anywhere_ by himself. Himself for letting him talk him into it and even taking a shower before Shinichi had returned.

The bastards always did like to strike when one had their pants down.

He wasn't paying attention to the shirt he grabbed. Some sleeveless tank that he usually used more for under wear than as the actual shirt. It was going to get soaked from the bath water on his skin, but he wasn't overly concerned about that just then. He wouldn't even have worried about a shirt and just gone out there topless if it weren't for the fact that all of his shirts - even this under shirt - had pockets sewn into them full of tricks he could use.

The door couldn't come open fast enough, the forced automatic open and close slowing it down almost agonizingly so, despite the fact that it really didn't actually effect it normally unless one tried to yank on the door.

He'd barely checked to see if he had his card key on him, more habit than thought, before he let the door shut behind him and was pulling out the mini radar that went with the tracking device on Shinichi's shirt collar. They were still in the parking lot, but he couldn't see anyone over the tops of the cars. The parking lot was huge, and even with the trace, he could only get so close and they could be crouched below a car.

Kaito studied the position of the little dot, even as he darted through the cars towards it. Shinichi had said he was by the rental, but the little dot minutely moving back and forth where it stood, was over closer to the main lobby and office. Why would the ghost go towards people? It was obviously smart from the way Shinichi had described it. Unless... Had a family member - an Akimoto, or one of the Amago's - come out and talked to Shinichi? It would just figure. Even when the boys were trying so hard to be careful and keep everyone safe, people still went got themselves into trouble.

He hastened his jogging to an all out run. The ghost only had three minutes, four tops, before he had opened the door. Another minute or two before he would reach the little dot on the screen. Maybe he wouldn't have had time to have done any damage.

Kaito knew the moment he saw them that it was too late. They were down on the ground, between two cars and perfectly hidden from the view of the hotel's main doors not even a 100 yards away. The woman, he recognized the outfit even from his angle as Amago Tadae's, was unmoving on the ground, Shinichi's unmistakable form perched down around her hips. He couldn't see his face, nor what he was doing, but judging from Tadae's lack of struggling, she was already dead.

Kaito didn't even realize he was squeezing the radar until it gave a small _creek_ of protest. In the silence of nature and the lack of cars, it sounded so much more louder than it was.

Shinichi- no. Not Shinichi. Whoever this Ishimaru Kawaguchi was, it may have been able to hold himself similar to Shinichi - how long had it been watching him to notice even a few little things in Shinichi's posture? - it still held itself like it was meant to be taller. It reminded Kaito of how Shinichi had described those first few weeks as Conan.

Not to mention that the _feel_ of him was all wrong. Kaito didn't know anything about auras, if they were real or not, but he thought he could almost feel the evil of this creature. The air around it was heavy and there almost seemed to be a darkness, an almost literally _black_ around the edges of it. Like miasma.

That was _not_ Shinichi.

Ishimaru drew itself up, the movement fluid and it sickened Kaito how almost natural it seemed. He had expected it to more jerky or over shot, like those movies he'd seen about people looking like puppets while possessed. Ishimaru looked almost like it _belonged_ there, and that was just... _no_.

"I see you found me, Kaito-kun." Oh, god, it even sounded like Shinichi. Tokyo accent and all. He wondered if he had been expecting that cliché over voice that always sounded like the real ghost, like the one heard in horror movies.

Kaito reigned in all his emotions, putting on a nonchalant expression as he circled around the cars to come to face Ishimaru. Despite having to take his eyes off him, briefly, to come around the car, the ghost didn't move. It didn't even look up as he came to stand just out of arms reach of them. "It's not polite to call a stranger by his first name," he stated calmly, as if discussing the weather and not as if he were talking to a lunatic possessing his boyfriend.

"Oh? Is that anything to say to your boyfriend?" The ghost lowered its hands from where they had been thumbing Tadae's throat. It didn't take much for him to deduce it had strangled her.

The bastard had used Shinichi to kill again. It was hard to keep the dark anger in check, but he managed it. If he came out in the edge of his voice, it was only to be expected under the circumstances. "No, but you're not Shinichi."

No question. He wanted to let the creature know he had never been fooled.

The ghost chuckled, shifting to get a better position. "I suppose I couldn't fool you. Not with that... thing... he used to contact you." It's eyes ticked to the car beside it, in the direction the hotel. "Tell me, has any one noticed the disturbance? She wasn't much of a screamer, barely made a peep, but it would be a shame to be caught now." It's hands came to rest of the dead woman's stomach, just before the edge of her shirt. "Go on, look. I promise I won't do anything."

Kaito's eyes narrowed. Ishimaru had no weapons, and there was nothing more it could do to hurt Tadae. She was already dead. It was also a valid question that he, too, would like to have the answer to. Turning his head, just enough to see the doors, but enough he would see any movement on Ishimaru's part out of his peripheral view, he checked them out. If anyone had seen anything, they weren't coming out. They were also just out of the windows' immediate view and they had a little freedom to move around and not be noticed.

Great.

"Looks like no one gets to see your show but me, Ghost-san." Kaito said, sticking his hands in his pockets to hide his reaching for his sleeping gas.

Ishimaru paused at the title, and then snorted. "A polite one. There should be more people like you, boyo." Its hands reached the edge of Tadae's shirt and began lifting it up.

Kaito didn't even realize he had reached for his card gun until he heard the clicking of a card into place. "Don't."

The ghost stopped, the blouse bunched up to, and its hand resting just under, Tadae's breasts. The sound of a gun cocking was universal no matter what time period one lived it for a very long time back. There was no way Ishimaru wouldn't recognize it.

Slowly, the ghost looked up at him, the first he had done so since Kaito's approach. There was very little difference to Shinichi's eyes, they were still the same blue, blue color they always were, but never had Kaito seen that sort of insane glitter in them. It was alien, and sickening, and he wanted it _out_. Now.

"Are you going to shoot me, Kuroba-san?" The ghost tilted its head to the side, mimicking the way Shinichi would try and disarm a culprit that had just given something away they hadn't meant to.

Kaito was fairly certain he wouldn't shoot Ishimaru. But that didn't mean he wasn't ready to shoot a warning shot if the bastard made another move like that. "Get out, Ghost-san. I'll only ask nicely once." He steadied the gun and put on his Poker Face.

Ishimaru stared at him for a long, long moment. Whatever it saw seemed to amuse it. "I don't think you'll shoot your boyfriend, Kuroba-san," it mused aloud. "But I do think you're quite dangerous. Alright. No more touching the pretty ladies. They weren't doing anything for me anyway." To accent the words, it pulled Tadae's blouse back down and into place, patting the cloth as if it made everything all better.

Kaito felt his stomach roll. Felt the bile in the back of his throat. But they had said Ishimaru _hadn't_, he'd heard them- "You didn't rape Akimoto-san."

Ishimaru shook Its head, wincing slightly and holding a hand to Shinichi's head. Kaito thought of Shinichi's headache, wondered, furiously, what damage the ghost was doing this time and if knocking the body out would really help. "You'd think a hot blooded teenager like your boyfriend could get it up for any pretty lady," Ishimaru explained. He was slowly getting to his feet and Kaito was alarmed over, again, how natural Ishimaru used the body. "But even after hours spent with her before I gave up, I just couldn't get interested, if you know what I mean."

The bastard had the gall to wink at him as if they were buddies and they were just discussing an average, every day problem. It took extra effort and years of schooling his emotions to keep from loosing it and punching the imposter and hoping Shinichi, forgive him. The only sign of it being the tightening of his hand around the canister of sleeping gas. "Can't say I know the feeling, Ghost-san. Sorry."

Ishimaru nodded, again wincing. Shinichi's skin was paler than it had been just minutes earlier, and although he didn't look dangerously so, Kaito couldn't help but wonder if this was what it meant to 'burn someone out'. The monster could be killing Shinichi and there was very little he could do.

"You know," Ishimaru wondered, stepping around Tadae and the car, completely ignoring the gun pointed at it as if the gun weren't really there.

Let it call his bluff with the gun, Kaito thought. It was just a distraction anyway.

Ishimaru closed the gap between them, placing its hand on the bottom of the gun, right over Kaito's hand, and lifting it to point to the sky. The ghost was just a mere few inches away, just inside his personal space, but still Kaito didn't show how much it bothered him. People had gotten closer to him as Kid, in the past. There had even been once, where Snake had pinned him down and tried to shoot him point blank in one of the scariest encounters he had had with the assassin. Each time he had gotten free and already he could think of a dozen different ways to take Ishimaru down before it had the chance to react.

Ishimaru raised Shinichi's other hand to rest it on Kaito's shoulder. He could feel the cold fingers - much to cold to be healthy - run along his shoulder to slide over his throat. Despite the dangerous position, Kaito still kept perfectly still.

"I heard a story once, from one of the ghosts down at the hospital." Ishimaru was murmuring in a way that Kaito imagined as meant to soothe him into some sort of mood. It only made his skin crawl everywhere Ishimaru touched him. "The woman had had a heart transplant. Imagine, moving a heart from one place to another. Sounds like magic and witchcraft if I hadn't seen them do it before. But she said she had liked all sorts of new things she hadn't before - even the heart's previous owner's lover."

Ishimaru looked him up and down in what could have been a flattering way. It seemed to both disgust and intrigue the ghost that the body it resided in was interested. It leaned in closer, until Kaito could smell the lingering scent of Shinichi's toothpaste on his breath. "I wonder if I killed you and tried again, I might get some results from this body."

Kaito decided that enough was enough. Before Ishimaru could even react, Kaito was holding his breath and pulling the gas canister out of his pocket, giving it a good, hard spray right in the monster's face. Ishimaru released him, staggering away as it coughed and sneezed. It glared at him, mouth slightly ajar, as it muttered, "What did you..."

The ghost couldn't finish as the body succumbed to the sleeping gas and tumbled forward. Kaito sprung forward, catching the body before it could hit the ground. He may have been supremely pissed with Ishimaru, but this was still Shinichi's body. There was enough damage as it was.

Speaking off, Kaito felt around the back of the detective's head for the earlier bump, feeling a spike of alarm when his fingers came away bloody. He stared down at blood, baffled. There hadn't even been a cut before, why was there a bloody wound now? It didn't make any sense! What was Ishimaru _doing_ to Shinichi when he possessed him?

Kaito growled. He had to get Shinichi to a hospital, promptly, but it wouldn't do for them to be seen this close to another dead body. It would be a red flag neither of them could deal with properly without turning Shinichi into a fugitive, and they really, really didn't want that.

He would just have to move Shinichi to the hotel room before leaving an anonymous tip about the body. He hoped Tadae's spirit could forgive him, but Shinichi was still alive and he wanted to keep him so.

Decision made, Kaito made his cell appear from some hiding spot on his person, juggling to keep the phone in place and picking Shinichi up as he waited for the operator to pick up.

"Hello, 119 emergency. How may I take your call?"

Kaito rattled off his name and the address of the hotel, careful to keep the strain of carrying the dead weight of someone his size and general weight out of his voice. "I have a 19 year old male with a head wound, he's unconscious." Kaito left out the part where it was his fault for that bit.

The drug would be gone from Shinichi's system before they got there too. Hopefully, so would Ishimaru. Had the gas effected the ghost inside? Or just the body?

Question for another day.

"Did you see what happened? Is he bleeding and have you moved him?" the operator questioned, he could hear the typing of the keys in the background as the request for help was sent out.

Kaito, again, side stepped the touching questions and his role in all this. When the paramedics got there, Shinichi would be on the bed in their hotel, seemingly passed out and unresponsive. Kaito only wished it was because of the gas. "He received a head injury late last night but the doctor said he was fine this morning. When I found him, it was bleeding and he isn't responding."

"Alright, sir, we're sending an ambulance down now. Just make sure not to move him, keep something pressed to the wound and he keeps breathing. I'll stay on the line until they arrive."

"Alright." Worked just fine for Kaito. He wasn't one hundred percent sure there wouldn't be an emergency before they arrived. That head wound could be worse than he thought and he needed to get something pressed against it. Thank god, there was the door. It was easy to keep a hold of Shinichi, despite the added strain to open the door.

He gently lay Shinichi on his side, scrambling for some piece of clean clothing to press to the wound and stop the sluggish bleeding. Already, Kaito could see thin ribbons of it down the back of Shinichi's neck that had ended and soaked into his shirt. He swallowed, hard around the lump, and refused to panic. This was _not_ going to kill Shinichi (head wounds always bleed a ridiculous lot, right?), he wouldn't let it.

"I have something pressed against it," he informed the lady, needlessly. He wanted to babble, just to assure himself that he wasn't alone in the room and someone was indeed on their way. He couldn't quite bring himself to care if she minded, as the adrenaline from facing Ishimaru began to wear away, leaving only fear and worry in it's wake.

Ishimaru had gotten Shinichi. He had let someone get _his_ Shinichi. _Again_. He had let Ishimaru use Shinichi to kill that poor, stupid woman who had never done a thing in her life to deserve it.

Someone was dead and his precious detective could be dying all because he'd _messed up_ and no, nonononono- he wasn't going to lose it. Absolutely not. Shinichi was still alive, and he had failed before, but he was _not_ going to mess this up.

"Sir? Sir, are you alright?" The operator sounded a little frantic. He wondered if he had made any noises.

"Yes," he managed. He forced himself to stop clenching the pillow he was leaning on for dear life, forced himself to breath. "I'm fine."

The answer appeased the operator. This was probably not the first call that had come with a distressed caller. "Alright, sir, I'm going to give you some instructions, and I need you to follow them. What you need to do is..."

Kaito followed the instructions without much thought, part of his mind already thinking about what to do next, and who might be able to deal with this ghost problem because he was at a loss. He listened to the sound of the operator's voice until he heard the sound of the ambulance outside and the pounding on the door.

He never thought he'd been that happy to hear the paramedics in his life.

A pair of paramedics were what he greeted at the door. They both took in the room with a glance, more than likely looking for any threats to their future patient or to themselves. Kaito was certain nothing would have stopped them from entering that room short of the doorway collapsing, and even then it would have been a minor inconvenience.

The taller of the two paramedics, a large man of foreign decent it appeared, turned his attention on Kaito while the other set up around the bed. It was more of a shift of focus as he never took his eyes off his partner or Shinichi. "What happened?"

Kaito repeated his story, answering the man's questions as they popped up. He was highly thankful both he and Shinichi had discussed their medical information, just in case one of them needed to go to the emergency room. Leave it to Shinichi to never be to careful.

The smaller paramedic, slightly plump (the kind that came from someone who was a little slack on their diet), nodded to his partner. "Breathing is stable. Blood pressure is a 90 over 60. He's not in the danger zone yet, but the bleeding hasn't stopped and he's still unresponsive. Let's get him on the stretcher."

Kaito watched as they worked as a team to move Shinichi evenly and as gently as possible to the stretcher, the teen feeling almost useless except to open and hold the door. He tried not to think about the sight of Shinichi, prone body and pale faced, just lying on the stretcher like he was already-

"Hold the door a minute," the taller paramedic called, just before his partner closed the back doors. "You coming, kid?"

Kaito stirred, blinking away the images. He had to force himself to stop and think for it to sink in that the man was offering him a ride to the hospital in the back of the ambulance. It would mean yet another hike back to the hotel when this was over, but the price was more than worth it.

Kaito jumped in.

Kaito glared at vending machine, nursing his burnt hand and wondered what had possessed him to attempt to get some coffee in the first place. Oh, yes, the nurse on duty had thought she was doing him a favor by suggesting the vending machine on the second floor (the one on the first floor was out of service) and he had been happy with her for doing it at the time. Desperate for something to do other than stare blankly at the clock for another hour as he waited for news on Shinichi, he had accepted.

Although, choosing the coffee had been impulse. If he was going to drink anything out of the evil machine with it's spray _that missed_ it would have been hot chocolate. And yet, he had chosen coffee. Shinichi's favorite drink.

God, he really was worried out of his mind.

Sighing, Kaito inspected what _had_ actually gotten into the cup and was further irritated by the fact that it had ...red blobs... in it. It looked like tomato juice had mixed in with it. Great, he couldn't even get his coffee to sit and hold and remind him of Shinichi in some weird and corny way without there being something to remind him of all that _blood_.

Growling to himself, Kaito snatched the cup up, heedless of the scolding hot liquid he had just further spilled onto his hand and dumped the cup, liquid and all, into the trashcan beside the vending machine.

He debated putting in another few coins and actually trying to get the hot chocolate, but after the coffee/tomato juice concoction he didn't think he wanted to waste his limited on-hand cash.

"You have to hit the button first!"

Kaito focused on the reflection in the vending machine's front, studying immediate details of the speaker before turning around ...and looking down. It really had been a child, a little boy of no more than eight or nine, that had spoken. Putting on a charming smile and bending down to the little boy's level, Kaito asked, "Oh? Do you know how to get the evil machine to work?"

The little boy nodded cheerfully. He stepped around Kaito to stand on his toes and reach the button he wanted. Tapping it, he somehow managed to stretch and look at Kaito over his shoulder. "You have to press this one or none of the others will work. The nurse lady showed me."

Kaito looked at the button. It was for some milk beverage no one would ever go for and he boggled that it would have anything to do with making the machine work. Still, if the kid said it worked...

Pulling out his money and getting to his feet, Kaito stuck the coins in, but paused before making his decision. Looking down at the boy, he offered, "What do you want?"

The little boy stared at him wide eyed. Kaito could see the grin spreading over his face and threatening to split it from ear to ear. "Really?"

Kaito smiled at the boy's enthusiasm. "I'm not really thirsty after all. So, what'll it be?"

"This one! Touchan always gets me this one!" He pointed at the hot chocolate button. The little boy paused, and then pouted, as he added, "But he always keeps it until it cools off first. Kaachan made him promise."

Part of Kaito's attention, the part that came from his own talent for reading people and had only been heightened by spending so much time with a detective as a life partner, focused on the 'always' and wondered why the little boy's mother and father would be spending so much time in a hospital that their son would know how to work a malfunctioning vending machine. The little boy himself wasn't in a hospital gown, so perhaps there was something wrong with one of the parents?

The magician mentally pushed the thought aside, nodding and doing as the little boy suggested. Sure enough, the machine worked, just as the kid said it would. A few moments later, he was handing the mostly full cup to him, cautioning him to hold it with both hands, least he spill it like the silly adults - himself included, and he even waved his burnt hand for the boy to see - kept doing. The little boy laughed, disarmed into following Kaito's instructions by the implication that the little boy was smarter than the adults.

"Make sure your Touchan says it's cool enough first. You don't want to burn your mouth do you?" Kaito stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was time to go back to the waiting room, he thought. He didn't want to miss the doctor coming out to announce Shinichi's condition.

The little boy peered down at his drink, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Touchan is sleeping right now. Kaachan said he should wake up soon, but I could tell, she didn't think he would. Touchan sleeps a lot these days and Kaachan is always sad when he does."

Hidden in his pockets, Kaito's hands twitched with the aborted unconscious decision to ball them into fists. The little boy's father was the one that was sick. Adults didn't give children enough credit to notice the little things, but if even this little boy had noticed, it must be serious.

It must have been because it was the little boy's father, and the wound his own father's death had left, that made the little boy remind him of himself all those years ago. At least, with this little boy, if things took a turn for that kind of worst, it would have been over a course of time and his mother would be better prepared to deliver the news no child could ever understand.

Reaching out, without really meaning too, his hand just seemed to do it, Kaito pulled a hand from his pocket and put it on the little boy's head. The child peered up at him through light brown bangs curiously. "Your Kaachan will know when it's cool enough, right?"

The little boy seemed to think that over. His smile back, the little boy nodded, cheerful once more and darted off down one of the hallways that lead deeper into the hospital. Before the little boy disappeared, he turned back around and waved, wide and excitedly over his head and nearly spilling some of his drink. "Bye! Thank you for the chocolate!"

Despite his increasingly depressed mood, Kaito put on an honest smile, waving back until the little boy was gone. The moment he was, Kaito ran his free hand through his hair, tugging at it lightly, before letting his hand rest on the back of his neck.

He could really use some good news about then.

Turning, he made his way back to the elevator, catching one with a nurse who had just clocked out and was on her way to the parking lot. Kaito wished her as good evening and offered her a flower in payment of her company as he stepped out of the elevator.

A doctor was standing at the nurse's counter as he entered the waiting room. Kaito could tell it was the one he was waiting for when the nurse looked up at him and pointed him out to the doctor. Kaito could see him politely thank the woman before motioning for Kaito himself to follow him to a more discrete part of the waiting room.

The doctor, who's name badge read Masahide, pulled out a small pair of glasses from his breast pocket, perching them low on his nose as he looked over the information Kaito had filled out nearly three hours previously. "My name is Masahide Nawa. I was the head doctor that that performed Kudo-san's surgery. This says you accompanied Kudo-san in, Mr...?"

"Kuroba Kaito."

Masahide actually did a double take, staring at Kaito over his glasses - reading glasses? - and then rereading the information on the paper. "Remarkable," the man remarked to himself. "I thought you were his brother because of your looks."

Kaito had actually thought of playing that up. Things went ...smoother... when they thought you were family (Kaito even had a fake ID he'd never shown Shinichi that read 'Kudo Kaito' that he kept for kicks, just like he had one for Shinichi that read 'Kuroba Shinichi.' He had yet to find an excuse to slip Shinichi his). He had only held off because they had already given their names and IDs to the police because of the murder case.

Kaito was more worried about Shinichi's current condition to be amused over fate's little practical joke. "How is Shinichi?"

Masahide's lips thinned. He flipped through the paper again, and Kaito knew what he was looking for even before the man opened his mouth. Kaito wasn't 'family,' through blood or by marriage, so technically he couldn't have patient information beyond the basics. He couldn't even be seen as Shinichi's legal partner since they were both males and Japan didn't recognize gays as potential couples for marriage.

"The number for his parents is currently going to voice mail, although we will be trying it again until we get an answer. Is there no one else to contact to give permission to lease information to you?"

Kaito shook his head. "His parents are the only blood related family he has." Kaito tilted his head to the side, considering pointing out what he and Shinichi were to the other. It was a shot in the dark, but he felt it worth mentioning. "Shinichi and I are partners."

He let the lack of any and all honorifics do the talking for him.

The man narrowed his eyes at him. Kaito could see him weighting that against his own morals with his legal disposition. "Technically, I can't legally release patient information to you, but I'm going to make an minor exception. I will tell you how he's doing, but I can't let you in to see him until he's awake."

Like hell they could keep him out, but the doctor didn't need to know that. "Alright."

Masahide nodded. "Kudo-san will live and is currently sleeping off the anesthesia. We stabilized him, but he has a concussion and the bone is cracked." The doctor pulled his glasses from his face, tucking them away and putting his clipboard beneath his arm. "If he had been hit any harder its possible the crack could have sent splinters into the brain tissue. Thankfully crack isn't deep and the x-rays showed no bone mass in the tissue."

The man expression was both severe and curious. "This doesn't appear to be the first head injury Kudo-san has obtained. Has he been hit in the head recently?"

Masahide could say that, although Kaito didn't have the faintest clue what Ishimaru had hit Shinichi with, or why he would even hit him with something. Wouldn't it have an exact opposite effect to the 'usefulness of the body' he was possessing? "He was attacked yesterday. The paramedic on scene cleared him for duty."

The doctor pulled his clipboard back out, frowning. "Can I have the name of the doctor? I'd like to have a word with him or her about the importance of bringing patients in, regardless, after they've been attacked."

Kaito nearly smiled, despite his exhaustion, and thought about telling Masahide that the paramedics couldn't have brought Shinichi in short of sedating him. A single paramedic, by himself, hadn't stood a chance.

"We never got a name," Kaito explained, thinking back to the man that had helped them nearly twelve hours ago. He shrugged.

Masahide didn't appear happy with this, but he nodded anyway. He tucked his clipboard back under his arm and capped his pen, which he put in his pocket beside his glasses. "Unless there are any further questions, Kuroba-san, we will contact you if Kudo-san regains consciousness. Is the number listed on here your cell phone number?"

"Yes." Kaito tilted his head to the side, trying to look as innocent as possible. "What room is Shinichi staying in?"

Masahide again pulled out his clipboard. The magician wasn't sure why he'd even bothered to put it up. "Room 2123, the South Wing. Now, if you'll excuse me...?"

He was glad when the man dismissed him, heading through the doors and disappearing back into the hospital. The doctor out of the room, Kaito turned to the nurse on duty. Stepping up to her, Kaito leaned over the counter, and lowered his voice. "Is there a restroom around here? Long walk home." He gave her an apologetic smile.

The woman smiled in return. "Of course." Leaning around him, she pointed down the hallway and to the doors the doctor had just passed through. "Just past those doors and on the left. You can't miss it."

Kaito waved at her in thanks, putting a little extra speed to show his 'haste.' Once on the other side of the doors, Kaito took in the visibility of the doors and the likelihood the nurse might pass it, and looked for any other desks. As far as Kaito could see, there was neither office nor single person anywhere in sight.

It really was too easy.

The magician ducked into the woman's bathroom, after assuring there was no one else in there. Nurse's outfits were generic enough that nearly all of the uniforms were the same, except for a few minor differences. If he was careful enough, he could use the one he carried on him to get him by. To add to that, how lucky for Kaito that he had spent more than enough time with the departing nurse in the elevator that not only had he a perfect disguise but he had also had more than enough time to get her voice and base mannerisms down. No one would think twice if the young lady had set her keys down, 'forgotten' them, and needed to go back for them.

Kaito inspected his work as he finished the last touches to his disguise. It wasn't remarkable, but it was more than passable. No one should be able to notice the difference short of one of his detectives, and the only one around was unconscious in a hospital bed.

He was going to have to buy more supplies soon if he kept using up his extras, he thought. He was already down to two left. Still, it was a small price to pay to get him inside the hospital and to check on Shinichi himself.

Satisfied with his work, Kaito opened the door and Kasuhide Taneno stepped out into the hallway, looking around with a worried expression on 'her' face, just in case someone was in the hallway. Anyone would be worried if they'd left their keys in a populated area, after all, wouldn't they? And she wouldn't be able to even get into her car if she couldn't find them!

Pausing to study the map on the wall of the hospital, Kaito searched out all of the nurses desks and other likely populated areas in relation with the desired room. There was one other nurse's station on the first floor, but it was on the other side of the building and more than easy to by pass. It was more likely that he would meet a doctor or another nurse on the way to the Shinichi's room than run into a populated area.

There were five elevators on his current level, only two of them going to every floor. Elevator B was overly qualified to just go to the second floor, but it was the only elevator that would allow him to by pass the nurses desk on the second floor. The little elevator was tucked in the south east corner of the hospital, and Kaito was able to find it without running into anyone.

The second floor was just as bare. Kaito wondered if it had been a slow day (there had only been one person in the waiting room, besides himself; an elder woman he hadn't done more than glance at). It was a small town, but was there really so little use for such a large hospital? With the cold temperatures (but not _ghost_ cold) and sheer lack of any other people, it made him feel like he had just walked into a horror movie.

Passing along the rooms, Kaito only sparingly peeked into the rooms as he passed, keeping an eye for any doctors, nurses, or patients that might spot him. There was only one other patient, it seemed, on this floor, Kaito spotting the sleeping man through the glass as he passed. There was no one in the room with him, and he didn't wake up as he passed.

He was just within visual of his destination, when he heard the footsteps, was already expecting a voice, when a woman asked, "Kasuhide-chan?"

Kaito was too good at his job to jump, even if he had been startled. He still plastered a surprised look on Kasuhide's face as he spun around, wide-eyed to meet the voice, "Ah! You scared me, I didn't think there was anyone up here."

The woman, a nurse with a name badge reading Takame, laughed. "Sorry! I didn't mean to." She blinked at 'Kasuhide' in surprise, herself. "I thought you had gone home already?"

'Kasuhide' looked properly sheepish. "I left my keys sitting somewhere and I'm trying to find them. I don't know how I managed to lose them." 'She' laughed in that same sheepish way, reaching up to scratch at 'her' cheek (just like Kaito had seen her do when she had been describing spilling a bucket of cleaning supplies earlier and how lucky she had been not to get any of the stuff on her uniform).

Takame smiled sympathetically. "You just seem to be accident prone today. Well, good luck and be careful about the south stairs. It looks like that old ghost," at this Takame rolled her eyes, and Kaito was under the impression she thought it was just some superstition gone wrong, "Is apparently up to it's tricks again, and someone's already fallen once today."

Kaito couldn't know if Kasuhide knew about this problem or not, but with his new found knowledge that ghosts where indeed very, very real, he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Old ghost?"

Takame gave him a worried look. She looked like she was about to attempt to take his temperature, and he could even see her hand twitching to do so. "Are you sure you're ok, Kasuhide-chan? If you're forgetting even that..."

Kaito stomped down his panic at his possible blunder, and made a production of pressing his hand to his forehead. "Maybe I am a little tired," 'Kasuhide' offered. "I can barely remember my own name right now. You know how it can be." They both shared a laugh at that, and Kaito took it as the perfect moment to ask, "But could you refresh me on it? I just seem to be blanking right now."

The woman shook her head, amused. "Years ago, before even Tanamure-sensei took over the hospital, apparently a patient fell down the stairs. He broke his neck on the landing between this floor and the first floor. Stories have it, that he still haunts the stares and will push people down it when he's in the mood." She snorted and crossed her arms. "Honestly, this whole town has too many ghost stories. It's any wonder we don't have honest tourists anymore."

Kaito wondered what Takame would say if he told her he had it on good faith that ghosts were real and her story just might have some truth to it. Making a show of remembering, Kaito said, "Oh! Yes, that story. I don't know how I could have forgotten it. I'll be sure to take the elevator on the way down."

Takame gave him an odd look, but just settled for shaking her head. "Well, I had better get back to my desk. Was only over here to check on the patient in 2117." Takame gave 'Kasuhide' a brief friendly wave and threw a "I hope you find your keys!" over her shoulder as she departed.

Kaito stood, patiently waving until Takame was around the corner, before darting to the door he wanted, not particularly wanting to be interrupted again. On the door, a little number plate sat reading Room 2123, with 'Kudo Shinichi' listed just under the numbers in neat, typed kanji, and looking more official than Kaito cared to think about. The door opened to a typical hospital room, with their white walls and beeping equipment and single waiting chair tucked in the corner.

Kaito wasn't paying attention to any of it, making a beeline for the lone bed, with its white, white sheets, in the center or the room. Various wires and IVs were hooked to either arm, giving Shinichi the fluids and antibiotics he needed post surgery. The heart monitor beeped steadily away, each beep sounding like music to magician's ears.

Pain flashed across Kaito's face and he didn't even try to hide it as he reached over, brushing the bangs from Shinichi's face, and leaned over to press a light kiss to the detective's forehead, just under the bandages. Softly, just above a whisper, he murmured, in his own voice, "I'm so sorry." So, so very sorry, and he could never say it enough.

Looking at Shinichi, now, with his pale skin and those machines hooked up to him, Kaito's guilt was only sky rocketing. Stupid detective, just having to run off and inspect another clue, and damn himself for letting him. He should have never left Shinichi's side like that. He wanted to blame his folly on his ignorance and only having learned of ghosts just hours previously, but he had watched enough horror movies to know that the predator _always_ went after the most vulnerable first, and he had still let Shinichi wander off like that.

"I'll find a way to stop this." Kaito promised, pressing a second, chaste kiss to his detective's lax lips. He knew Shinichi couldn't hear him, but he didn't need to. This promise was more for himself. "Just wake up soon."

Shinichi carried on sleeping, seemingly oblivious to the other presence in the room.

Kaito reached out and gave the detective's hand a squeeze, almost, almost not letting go and just wanting to wait there until Shinichi woke up, or he was caught. It was so tempting, but the need to protect Shinichi was so much stronger, giving him the strength to let go and leave the room.

He needed to get back to the ground floor and out of the hospital. He had a phone call to make.

Kaito pulled out his cell phone once he was cleared of the doors, pulling his phone book application up and pressed call on the one phone number saved on his phone he didn't already have memorized:

Koizumi Akako's.

He had never been able to figure out why the phone number was in his cell phone. It had simply appeared like magic (he was hesitant to admit it might have been swiped under even his nose, but considering who's number it was, it was hardly too surprising) at some undetermined time before he found it while adding in Shinichi's own cell phone number. He hadn't tried to delete it on account that he had the feeling that if the phone had been messed with before, he seriously doubted he could stop it from being messed with again. He didn't particularly feel like getting a new phone just because an angry witch destroyed his current one.

And at that moment, he was simply glad he hadn't tried, because, for once, he _needed_ it.

The phone on the other end picked up on the second ring, a low, grating voice answering. "Koizumi residence. How may we serve you today?"

Because calling Koizumi wasn't creepy enough, he had to get the freaky butler. He shouldn't be surprised, that's what butler's do, but there was something about the little man that had always set his hackles up. "Koizumi Akako, please. Tell her it's an old school friend."

There was the sound of rustling cloth on the other end, and Kaito could hear that distinct _off_ sound that came with there being a second phone in service on the other line. Koizumi had been on the line the whole time. Kaito could hear her smooth chuckle, before she said, "I'll take the call, Mr. Egore. I've been waiting for it for some time now."

Kaito felt the hairs on the back of neck rise, as if someone where watching him and he resisted he urge to press his back up against the wall. Koizumi was a full day's journey away and there was no way she could know where he was.

At least, he hoped she didn't. Like he needed to have the lady witch spying on him and Shinichi at any random, inconvenient time.

"Oh?" Kaito drawled, listening to the click of the butler hanging up. "You're as spooky as usual, ojousan."

He could hear her soft, amused chuckle on the other end. "And you're as charming as ever, Kid-san." Kaito glared at one of the lamp posts directly in front of him, unable to direct his irritation at Koizumi herself. Even after retirement and complete lack of evidence, she still insisted on calling him that. He swore she had turned it into some sort of pet name.

"But you didn't call just to exchange pleasantries, did you?" She continued, and he could hear her pleased smile in her voice. "You need my help."

"And well informed," Kaito muttered. Worry rolled in his stomach, although none of it showed in his voice. He really, really didn't want to do this, but... he couldn't do this on his own, and he didn't think he would ever get the image of Shinichi in the hospital bed out of his head. He would do a lot of things for his detective - even steal for him - so this should be nothing. "Perhaps you might know how to ward off, say... a ghost?"

There, he said it. Let her figure out why he needed the information, because he wasn't going to give it.

There was a pause on the other end. Slowly, with a certain carefulness, Koizumi asked, "He's told you, then?"

Kaito had to stop himself from pulling the phone away to stare at it. Was it possible she _knew_? But _when_? How? The only time Shinichi and Koizumi had ever met was when- ah, but hadn't Shinichi commented, as Koizumi was leaving, that his friends were odd? She might have said something then, and Shinichi's comment suddenly made a whole new kind of sense.

Kaito still wasn't going to be the one to confirm it, either way. Let no one say he wasn't good at keeping secrets. Putting just enough curiosity as necessary into his voice, he asked, "Who told me what?"

His answer amused her, but thankfully she didn't seem interested in pursuing that line of questioning. Over the line filtered through the sound of glass and metal clinking against each other and Kaito imagined she was either in her kitchen or playing with her particular brand of toys. "What you seek is information." Another series of clinks and clanks, before they stopped, and there was the sound of papers being moved. Was she going through a book?

Kaito really hoped she wasn't multitasking by performing some sort of magic spell while talking with him on the other line. Cooking he could live with. But a magic spell? He'd rather not know.

"Information comes with a price."

And here lie-in the reason why he hadn't wanted to call her. He was asking a favor and there were few people in the world he wanted to be indebted to less than he wanted to be indebted to Koizumi Akako. He bit his lip and weighted the possibility of doing this on his own with whatever price she might ask him to pay. He already knew what his answer would be and he contended with the fact that he hadn't actually agreed with anything. Just hear her price and decide from there.

"Which is?"

"Since you're such a good friend of mine, Kid-san," Koizumi did something on the other line that sounded like turning an oven on and putting the jar of whatever she had gotten early down on some sort of wooden surface. "I'm going to give you a choice. I can either name my price now, or you can owe me a favor at a later date." All sounds ceased on the other end, and her tone darkened. "Choose wisely, Kuroba Kaito, for once you agree, you can not back out."

The use of his full name, instead of her pet name drove home the severity of the sentence more so than just her tone. Koizumi meant business, and Kaito knew he would do well to choose his response carefully. Who knew what breaking his word with the woman might do.

Kaito was silent for a long, long time, weighing and debating. It was hard, but he knew it was the right one. "Name it now."

There was movement on the other line, and he could almost _feel_ her seriousness disappearing. "Very good, Kid-san. I expected no less." The pet name helped to, although it wasn't helping the dread. "The price of for your information is to spend an afternoon with me."

It was so unexpected that even Kaito couldn't hide his surprise. Quite frankly he wasn't trying. Skeptically, he muttered, "Hah?"

"One afternoon within a weeks time after you return. Six hours from noon until 6pm. If this is unmanageable, then we will adjust the time accordingly." He could hear her practically purring, she was enjoying herself so much. Kaito was glad she wasn't there, because he couldn't seem to stop himself from gaping. "We could think of it as a date."

That snapped it out of it. Deadpan, he pointedly reminded her, "I'm already in a relationship, Ojousan. I don't go on dates with other people."

She chuckled, ever amused. "It's hardly so dramatic. You simply take me out to lunch, we spend some time with each other, and I send you back to your black knight by supper time." She was silent for a moment, before, flippantly, she added, "Is it wrong to want to spend time with my friends after they've been away for nearly a month?"

Kaito stared blankly into the parking lot of the hospital, not really seeing it anymore. Epiphanies struck at the oddest times and not always when one needed them, but when they did, it was like the world was suddenly brighter and clearer than it had been a moment before and things that you missed suddenly feel neatly into place, all without a single thing actually changing around you.

Koizumi was lonely.

Kaito thought back to his last two years of high school. Sure, the woman had lots of people around her, boys flocking to her like lost sheep that worshipped the ground she walked on, but how many _real_ friends had she had? Aoko, maybe. Aoko, bless her, was always the one with the patience and stubborn determination to make friends with Koizumi and include her in their activities, while he and Hakuba, when he was around, merely went with the flow.

This past year, the only people that Koizumi might have called 'friend' had either moved away (himself, when he moved into the Kudo house to stay with Shinichi, after Shinichi had been handed all deeds and ownership of the house upon his eighteenth birthday) or gotten together and had started towards making a family (Aoko and Hakuba had gotten together in a long distance relationship shortly after high school. Both had mutually agreed to hold off the marriage and possible talks of children until they were both out of college and had decided on which country they were going to live in).

Which left no one for Koizumi except her flock and butler. Not exactly the best company, in his opinion.

He really was a softy.

"Agreed."

He was already wondering if he should be regretting his decision when Koizumi practically started cackling. Not the most enduring thing for her to do, really. "Alright, Kid-san. It's very simple, really, you're going to find more trouble in locating the ingredients than putting together the wards."

Kaito thought of Inaba and how much she reminded him of Koizumi. She might have the things he needed. Shifting his phone to sit between his shoulder and ear, he freed up his hands. Without much thought to the trick, he flicked his left wrist and made a small notebook appear in it. A flick of his right and he had a pen. "And those are?"

"I'm going to give you two methods, just in case one is lost or destroyed. They are both as effective as the other." More shuffling on the other end. She was pulling a pot off the oven. "The first method involves taking the root of a devil's shoestring and fashioning it into a necklace. The wearing wears it all time. The other method is to fill a mojo bag, which can be any sort of small, easily tied off charm bag, with either - but not more than one - fennel seeds, orris root, or peony root."

Kaito eyed the list. His brows furrowed as he frowned down at it. Shifting the phone to the other ear, he murmured, "Don't you think your price was a little high for this?"

Koizumi made a thoughtful sound. "Perhaps. Was there another question you had? Be careful, it might be more than your change."

Kaito had to ask, he didn't know if he'd have another chance. "Do ghosts injure their victims when they possess them?"

He really hoped that wasn't too telling, even if she already seemed to know.

The silence was considering. Kaito imagined her counting coins as if it were real change and checking the price tag on his question. He thought it really would help if he had any sort of idea on how she priced things. "Another hour, either before or after, it's the same to me."

Seven hours. With Koizumi Akako.

Kaito grit his teeth and forced himself to loosen his death grip on the pen. As an after thought, he simply decided to free his hands and put the items back in their undisclosed pockets. "I'll see you at eleven."

Her noise of agreement was for his sake, he guessed, since he couldn't see her nod. "Ghosts and demons are the only supernatural creatures that can possess the living. Others can influence them, but not possess. When a demon possesses you, you merely lose control of your body, and perhaps your mind, but you come out of it physically no different - unless your demon is particularly sinister. Still, you want to get possessed by a demon over a ghost."

Kaito snorted. Derisively, he muttered, "Why on earth would you want to get possessed by a demon anyway?"

She chuckled. He could hear plates being laid out. Two, from the sound of it. Was she eating with someone? Or perhaps she was making an excess amount of whatever spell or potion she was working on. "Fair enough. Still, a demon will more than likely leave you alive. A ghost will eventually kill you."

The teen magician took hold of his cell phone just to have something to do other than blankly stare into the lot. "Oh?"

"All spirits, regardless of whether they reside in their original body and the person is still alive, or if they are ghosts wandering the earth, eat up life energy. It's simply what they do. To a living person, this is harmless. Their bodies regenerate that life force within the next twenty-four hours until at which point the body is too weak to do so and the person dies." Koizumi set several metal pieces - utensils? - on her plates, the noise oddly punctuating the ominous statement.

"The human body can not hold more than one ghost, for both souls eat up the bodies life force too quickly. If the invading spirit stays in the body too long, the living human will eventually die within three or four possessions in the exact same manner the ghost did."

_Kawaguchi Ishimaru: raped and murdered twelve women before he, himself, was murdered from a gunshot to the back of the head on October 25, 1878_.

Shinichi's voice filtered into his mind, the words playing out like a death sentence. The lump that had appeared on the back of Shinichi's head had been on the back of the head. The newest injury was also _in the exact same spot_. Oh, he had been such a fool not to have noticed something strange about that, even if he hadn't a clue.

Suddenly, the rest of Koizumi's information sunk in. Three or four possessions. If Ishimaru got Shinichi again - like hell, he would, if Kaito could help it - the detective could, possibly would, die. The sick, sick feeling of near helpless dread welled up in his chest, and he had to take a deep, calming breath to hold back his panic. He wasn't helpless and this wasn't a losing battle. He just had to acquire the tools to fight it.

"Thankfully, not all ghosts can possess the living, or we'd have a bit of a problem, now wouldn't we?" Koizumi was saying. She snorted softly. "No, only the old ones can, one's with age and power - and they can only possess someone who is aware of them. Not very many people can anymore." The phone shifted and all sounds stopped on the other end again. "Does that answer your question, Kid-san?"

More than. "Thanks, Koizumi." Kaito paused, added, somewhat reluctantly, she had pretty much made him pay for it, but still, "I appreciate it."

Kaito thought Koizumi's voice sounded warm, a strange sound, under her seriousness. "I hope you can save him, Kid-san. I know how much he means to you."

Kaito rolled his eyes, but it didn't have the same level of irritation it did before. "I still don't know what you mean, Ojousan."

"Of course."

They exchanged brief, mostly polite goodbyes, before both sides hung up. Kaito flipped his cell shut, tucking it away, as he pondered how to approach his next task: finding Inaba Norime. Best place to start any search? Their house. And surely someone in the town knew where she lived.

As if by some divine sending, the doors choose that moment to open and out stepped an elderly woman and a young man that bore enough resemblance to her that he could only be a relation, perhaps a grandson? Kaito nearly laughed, a grin crossing his face as he recognized the woman. "Ah, we meet again, ma'am." He greeted cheerfully. He could use a little cheering up about then.

The woman, indeed the same one that had interrupted his and Shinichi's beauty sleep the morning before, peered over at him curiously. He could see the moment he recognized him by the way she snorted with what he wanted to think was amusement. "Ah, the egotistical one. Did your boy find what he was looking for?"

Kaito blinked. Had she and Shinichi run into each other sometime after the detective had left his company? Kaito thought it a pity, he would have loved to see that encounter. Ignoring her particular way of describing him, it wasn't like it wasn't true, he said, "Yes, actually he did. Thank you for asking."

All that and so much more trouble. Oh, his stupid, loveable detective.

"Actually," Kaito said as he approached them so the pair wouldn't have to come to him, curtsey and all. "I wondered if I might bother you for some directions. I don't have a clue where to begin looking."

The old woman eyed him curiously. He knew she had to be wondering why he was at the hospital, and Kaito was glad he had remembered to change his shirt. He could only imagine what she might have thought if she'd seen the blood on his shoulder. Off hand, she waved to her grandson, although she didn't turn away from Kaito. "Why don't you get the car, Keiji? I'll be there in a moment."

Keiji raised an eyebrow at them, but shrugged. Kaito thought he looked happy to get away from the woman. He did have to admit, she had a rather large and loud personality that some people might rub people wrong and mistake as rude. It only made him like her more.

"Where are you going, boyo?"

Kaito turned his grin into a charming smile. "I'm looking for a Inada Norime, but I don't have a clue were she lives." He spread his hands wide in a show of apologetic confusion.

The woman's eyes narrowed. Her lips narrowed and a darkness seemed to come over her expression. This woman did _not_ think very much of Inaba. "What would you want with a woman like that?"

Kaito could tell if he didn't give her an answer, she wasn't likely to tell him anything. Whatever had happened between this woman and Inaba it had not gone down well. "I'm trying to find some things that would require Inaba's... expertise."

This didn't seem to appease the woman in the least. In fact, it only seemed to further displease her. "I thought your boy said you two _weren't_ ghost hunters?"

Kaito was getting rather curious about what they had talked about and when. Passively, he raised his hands in what he hoped was a harmless manner. "We're not, really. I'm just looking for some hard to find herbs and I figured if she really was a Wicca or witch, she might know where to find them."

Because Wiccan's were known to have lots of herbs, or at least knowledge of them, for rituals and every day needs and witches collected them for their spells as well. Everyone knew that, at least, Kaito hoped this woman did.

The woman huffed, still displeased and suspicious, but she thankfully dropped it. "That woman is no witch, despite her claims. She's troubled is what she is. But I can't stop you from talking to her." Turning, she lifted one of her hands from where she'd braced them evenly on her cane to point down a street Kaito hadn't been down yet, even with all his running around. "If you follow that block down to the end, you'll see a four way. Take a left onto South Block. That woman lives at 13 South Block. It's the black and white house on the right."

Kaito looked down the street, committing it and her directions to memory. Smiling gratefully, he reached out and took her raised hand, placing a kiss on the back of it in reward. "You have been ever so helpful, Mrs. Perhaps you'd let me escort you to your car in repayment for your time?"

The woman huffed, but she didn't take her hand back until he released it. She tapped her cane on the concrete once, as she said, "Charming, on top of egotistical. I could almost like you, boy." She didn't, however, seem likely to take his offer. "But I've been without a man to help me for nearly thirty years now, and I won't start now. Go, boy, and find your herbs, whatever you need them for."

The teen magician still hesitated, but he was a gentlemen to the last and he wasn't about to go against this woman's wishes. He'd more than likely get a cane to the shins if he tried. Snorting softly to himself, he only decided to give in when the woman's grandson arrived with the car.

Bowing, Kaito, ever polite, thanked her. "You don't know how much I appreciate this." With a wave, he set off in the direction she'd indicated, only holding back from breaking out into a run until he was safely out of the parking lot and onto the side walk.

Just before he was out of earshot, Kaito thought he heard the old woman say, "Now why can't you be more like that young man, Keiji? The world needs more gentlemen in it."

Keiji's half hearted, "Yes, Geda-baasan," was just audible over Kaito's laughter.

He really did like that woman.

_-  
To Be Continued  
_-

NEXT: Kaito meets Inaba Norime face-to-face, Shinichi wakes up, and both boys are in for a rather nasty surprise.


	8. The Silence Waits

AN: This chapter gave me trouble, in so much as: I was told that Kaito's second part spoiled some of the mood/effect of Shinichi's second part because it came first. Honestly... I don't do flashbacks, at least not for this story, and I like it just the way it is. Hopefully, it's not too bad?

AN2: ...It's very possible I'm a sadist.

Chapter Eight  
_The Silence Waits  
-_

13 South Block turned out to be a quaint little two story building nestled halfway down a seemingly quiet street. It appeared to have been a house, just like the houses immediately to it's left and right, but some time in the past the first floor had been transformed into a shop, it's name _Mekura Mahoumado_ plastered in neat, tidy kanji on a red and white sign that hung over the double doors that served as the front entrance.

As Kaito approached, he could see various knickknacks on display in the front windows. Some of them he would have expected to find in a magic shop: blank Books of Shadows, bags of herbs with their names printed on the outer bag, and even a little trio of mortars and their matching pestles. There was a set of little wooden chests that Kaito could only guess what they were for beyond the logical use of storage, and in the other window was a large array of statues of gods and goddesses.

Curious, the teen magician peered into the window with the statues, amused as he identified Anubis, easily the most recognizable, and there was a Ganesh statue sitting in the far left with alternate positions. He couldn't identify the woman looking like a she was holding a crescent moon, but there were also several variations of her in silver and gold mixed in the lot. Her little name tag, which Kaito leaned over and squinted at, trying to shield the glass from the glare of the sun setting behind him, simply read Crescent Moon Goddess.

Moving on from the window, Kaito pushed open one of the doors, aware of the odd green plant with it's red berries hanging over the door, and a little bell over head announced his entrance. The wooden 'Open' sign swung on it's old twine rope, clattering against the glass as the door closed behind him. The noise, normally just background noise in a busy store, sounded louder in the near silence of the shop. The shop keeper, Inaba perhaps, or a helper, was no where to be seen, although he was sure someone had heard that bell.

The inside of the shop was like something out of a show where witches and wiccans were yesterday's news and how could anyone blink twice about such a thing? To Kaito's immediate left was a display of jewels and precious gems, both polished and not. The table in the center had a huge amethyst, still half in it's rock. Smaller, less impressive stones littered the table around it, looking like an after thought. Kaito's position was perfect for the setting sun to spill in through front window and set the whole display sparkling and some part of him itched to take a look at them, but he resisted.

Gems were more pretty in the moonlight anyway.

Further in, Kaito could see there was more gems displayed beneath the cashier's counter. Behind the counter was a row of shelves holding what looked like the stores more high-end, expensive items. Larger statues than the ones that had been on display, and loose precious stones also larger than the ones even on the table.

Beyond the counter, towards the back of the store, were more shelves with even more books. He could tell even from this distance that they were old. Some where indeed new, settled on shelves closer to the front, but Kaito could tell the masterpieces of the collection where farther back. They were the ones people who could appreciate the arts came to look at.

Kaito raised an eyebrow at the records and cds and videos that littered a few shelves right of the books. The collection was sparse, but it showed signs that it had been looked through and Kaito wondered if the collection wasn't lacking because it had never had an assortment of titles, but because it had never been restocked. Either was just as possible.

Closer still to the right were the cauldrons and mortars, with their array of pestles. Kaito glazed over it, and the display of voodoo dolls, although he did take note of the little bags on display on the same shelf (Were these the bags to make this mojo bag Koizumi spoke of? He'd have to ask the store keeper when she - or he, to be fair - finally appeared) in favor of the shelves taking up the final remainder or space of wall to his immediate right.

Clear containers, each with their names printed in hand written Kanji and their English counterpart, took up these rows of shelves, the collection centerpieced with a table much like the gems had had, with live plants. It made sense that this display would be closer to the window to allow the plants sunlight.

Kaito stepped up to the shelves, ignoring the live plants. The plants were listed in alphabetical order by their English name. A curious thing to do in Japan, but Kaito had even knowledge of the location of wiccan hotspots to know that a majority of the followers were from North America. It stood to reason that American-Japanese tourists that stumbled across the town would be her biggest shoppers outside Hananomachi's current followers.

Holding up a finger to the names, Kaito pulled on ever bit of English he could remember learning. The American alphabet was easy enough to remember. What English student didn't know the alphabet song? Simple little thing, sure, but Kaito was finding it handy as he ticked off the letters under his breath. "A..."

"B..." and past the bearberry and bladderwrack, borage leaf and burdock.

"C..." and past the cat's claw root and dried chamomile flowers, clovers and comfrey leaf.

"D..." and past the dandelion leaf, until, finally, Kaito's finger feel upon the container of devil's shoe string. Pulling the little handle, Kaito drew the container out and peered in. Long bags of thin roots were piled in it, each containing one or two ounces per bag.

The teenager drew out a bag and boggled over how a bunch of twigs could possibly protect someone against something that could simply go through solid objects. He had a small twinge, a suspicion that Koizumi was pulling his leg, but he wanted - needed - for this to work, so he was just going to have to trust her.

Kaito put the container away, moving on to the Fs for the funnel seeds and later on down the selection for the Os and the orris root. He frowned when he failed to find peony root under the Ps, or even under any other letter (checked just in case it was simply misplaced). He looked down at his bags, mulling over the dilemma.

This was for Shinichi's protection, and Kaito wasn't for cutting corners when it came down to his detective's safety. Sure, he gave Shinichi the room to do his job as a detective, and had the faith that he could protect himself, but that didn't mean there weren't times he wished he could lock Shinichi up somewhere and keep him nice and safe and away from all the nastier sides of life, especially when Shinichi's life was one the line. He was fully prepared to make each and every one of those mojo bags and stick them on Shinichi's person, even if he had to tie them to his wrists so they didn't come off.

He did not like being deprived of a way to protect Shinichi. At all.

Kaito sighed and knew there was nothing he could do beyond asking the store keeper if he or she might have some elsewhere. Herbs in hand, he stepped back around the center table, and over to the voodoo/mojo bag display. Kaito knew he was deliberately shying away from the voodoo dolls (how could something so small cause so much damage?), but it was his humble opinion that the little things should never have been created. Ever.

It was entirely possible he was still miffed with Koizumi about the voodoo doll incident. Could anyone really blame him?

Grabbing three bags, two white ones and the last blue one the shop had, Kaito stepped away from the displays and made his way to the register. The shop keeper, he noted, had failed to appear while he was shopping, and it didn't seem likely he or she planned to pop up anytime soon. It was poor business tactics, leaving one's shop unattended like this. What if he was a thief (well, still a thief, or a petty one at that)? He could just take the items and walk out the door and it didn't appear anyone would notice.

After several minutes of waiting, Kaito's patience running thin, the teen leaned over the counter, attempting to peer in through the door behind and to the left. Beads hung from the door frame creating a movable barrier so the actual door could remain open and still create some privacy. It was nice with the image the shop had and Kaito honestly wouldn't have expected less. Taking a deep breath, and tightening his diaphragm to take the strain off his throat for his next stunt, Kaito called, loud and clear, and maybe with a little throwing of his voice into the next room, "Excuse me? Is anyone there?"

Silence. Kaito could easily count the seconds with the beating of his heart. Thirty beats exactly, he just barely heard the sound of someone running down the stairs in the instant just before he heard, "I'm coming! Sorry, I was working on a spell and-"

Inaba Norime paused in the door way between her shop and what more than likely was her home. Kaito found it fascinating to watch the array of emotions - expectation, disappointment, and was that a pleased expression? - flicker across her face and he had the distinct impression she had been expecting someone else, although he couldn't imagine why she might be pleased to see him. It wasn't like they had ever met, or even spoken to each other before then.

Visibly, Inaba gathered herself, seeming to remember all at once where she was and what she was supposed to be doing. "Welcome, sir, to _Mekura Mahoumado_. My name is Inaba Norime. Thank you for choosing this shop." She gave a respectful bow, which Kaito returned after he stepped away from the counter. She had obviously done this numerous times, from the polite, yet practiced tones she used in her greeting.

Straightening, she looked down at the items Kaito had left behind on the counter. Stepping around to her side of the counter, Kaito watched her pick up one of the bags and inspect it. She did the same with each and Kaito wondered if she was looking for something.

"You picked some good bags," she said, placing the bag down and turning to her register. She was watching him out of the corner of her eye, and he could tell she was curious. "I saw you at the clearing. Forgive my curiosity, but may I ask what you were doing there?"

Kaito smiled at her as he fished his wallet out of his pocket. "Not at all, ojousan. I prefer the curious." He knew it was showing off, but he couldn't resist making one of his trademark roses appear in his hand. With a twist of the wrist and a little misdirection, her counters vase of dead flowers was now home to his little gift. She raised her eyebrows at it, blinking. "You could say my partner has a knack for getting himself into trouble."

Which, in Kaito's opinion, was an understatement.

"The young man that questioned me?" Inaba pressed a button on her register and a final number came up. Kaito was already pulling out some bills as she stated the total off hand, never really taking her eyes off the rose and vase.

"That was him," Kaito confirmed cheerfully, tucking his wallet away after she handed him the total. When she offered him a bag, he waved her off, simply saying he didn't need one. He already had pockets cleared out on his person to carry the items when he was ready to leave.

Inaba finally gave in and stepped over to inspect the rose. She picked up the vase, and then the rose, blinking when she discovered there appeared to be no trick and the rose was indeed real. "You're a magician." It was a statement. Kaito, still grinning, picked up one of the items - the blue mojo bag - and took great delight from the look on her face as he made if vanish.

"And a good one," she added. Stepping back over to him, Kaito got the distinct feeling she was studying him. As if she were trying to see just how serious he was. "Do you dabble as well?"

She was trying to see if he was serious about the items, or if he was just a kid who thought he knew what he was doing. Kaito could see no reason in leading her to believe he dabbled - in fact, the whole idea made him uneasy, like he was playing with things one really shouldn't play with - so he decided to simply go with, "They're for a friend." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I was told these would help me, though."

Inaba picked one of the items Kaito hadn't put away, yet, holding the bag up for Kaito to see. The devil's shoestring, he identified. "These are all weapons to ward off things, although they have their uses other wise. This," she shook the bag, slightly, to draw his attention to it, "For instance, is rather potent. It gets its name from the idea of tripping up the devil, like you'd tied his shoestrings together, so he can not harm you. A little bit of this and you would be more than set."

She paused, looking like something had just occurred to her. It was there and gone and her tone suggested that she thought her next bit was rubbish, but she still felt inclined to mention it, "It is, also, believed to bring the person good luck if they keep it on them. I've never seen any proof of this, though."

Kaito wondered if she had tried it and if it had failed to do anything for her. Quietly, in the back of his mind, his unease about the practicality of this visit increased a little. "I'll keep that in mind, ojousan." Inclining his head to her, he gathered all of his things and stepped away from the counter. "It was a pleasure to meet you, but I'm really in a hurry. If you'll excuse me."

Kaito had made it halfway across the room, when she asked, "Why does your friend need a ward against evil spirits?" and something in her tone made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

She sounded like she already knew.

Ever polite, even when deflecting nosey comments, Kaito called over his shoulder, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, ojousan. Evil spirits aren't real, right?" He tucked the devil's shoestring in with the mojo bag he'd made disappear earlier, the orris root and it's bag was next.

He had just tucked the last mojo bag away, stuck briefly on the fennel seeds when the tape had somehow come up in the corner and had stuck to his fingers, when he heard her mutter, "This is going to be a problem."

A slight burning smell drifted over to him and for a sudden, almost all consuming moment, every instinct in Kaito's body rang out for him to /flee/. To forget storing the bag, with it's tape that had well and truly become useless, and just get out of there that moment. It was the kind of thing that Kaito had felt at times while on a heist and Snake had come out to play or one of the detectives were getting a little too close. But those were all things he'd expect when he was in danger, why was he feeling it now-?

Behind him, Inaba was speaking again. Kaito turned, eyes widening as he noticed a doll (not a voodoo doll, it was too large. What were they called... Ah, yes, a /poppet/) in her hands. Her words, now that he was focusing on them, finally registered and he nearly cursed.

"Thou art not cloth," she was saying, in accented English. Her dark eyes were focused solely on him, and it took him a moment to realize she was talking to the doll. "But flesh and blood. I name thee," She paused, eyes searching, seeming to look into him, and a part of Kaito was reminded of when Koizumi would do that. She was searching for something again. Searching, searching, but for what, and Kaito's blood seemed to chill in his veins as she said, "Kuroba Kaito."

Kaito was already moving, his instincts telling him to get that doll away from her, while the rest of his mind worked fervently to figure out how she had discovered his name.

And dammit she was still talking, trying to get through the door of her home, if she could manage it, the moment she realized he was coming for her. "Thou art he, between the worlds, in all the worlds," Kaito leapt easily over the counter, simply vaulting over it and landing nimbly on the other side, she made a startled noise, but she didn't pause, "So mote it be!"

Kaito grabbed a hold of her wrist, pulling her back into the room, even as the sensation of a hook latching itself onto the base of his spine took hold. His eyes narrowed dangerously, and his hand tightened on the wrist holding the poppet trying to get her to drop it.

Neither of them noticed the funnel seeds falling to the ground, the seeds spilling out of it's bag and scattering onto the floor.

"That's not very nice, ojousan." Kaito's tone was still polite, but all pretenses of civility was at the door and ready to book it. She had done something to him using that doll and he really didn't like the sound of that. "I hope you don't mind that I'm going to take that now."

Kaito reached for the doll with his free hand, and in retaliation, Inaba's grip on the doll tightened. She couldn't twist free, and for some reason, she didn't seem inclined to try. This probably worried Kaito more than if she had struggled.

She smiled just as politely as he had at her. "You'll have to forgive me if I can't give it to you."

Kaito was expecting her shove, in fact he welcomed it, and used the momentum to try and twist her around into a position that would make her hold on the doll painful. She growled, attempting to claw at his hand even as he yanked it away. "By three and nine, your power I bind," she hissed, pushing and pushing at him until he realized she was tying to push him into the center of the room with it's etched circle in the floor and then he was pushing back. "By moon and sun, my will be done."

Kaito could feel the hook tightening, a feeling like tendrils branching out and wrapping around his torso, snaking up for his arms and legs. She was trying to immobilize him. Releasing her hand, he tried to cover her mouth, and when that failed, really used their height difference to attempt to over power her.

Inaba slipped on the scattered funnel seeds and when she went down, she pulled Kaito down with her, both crashing to the ground and Inaba coughed in a way that suggested the air had been driven from her lungs. Kaito took the brief, precious seconds to reach for a canister of sleeping gas.

"Cord go round-" she coughed, clawed hand going straight for his face and he released the hand holding the doll in favor of grabbing her other hand. "Power be bound," she grunted and twisted beneath him, but she was stuck. "Light revealed," she paused as she registered the canister faced in her direction, and she had just enough time to knock at it - enough it was facing just to her left - before Kaito pushed down. The pink smoke spread out, hitting the floor a blooming like some kind of plant. Inaba's face would be consumed in seconds, but she still had enough time to say, "Now be sealed!"

Everything seemed to happen at once. At the exact same moment all of Kaito's limbs froze up, the teenager making a frustrated sound in the back of his throat, the funnel seeds started hissing and sparking as if they were fire crackers. Kaito saw Inaba's head turn towards them, incidentally putting her face first into the sleeping gas, and alarm rang through his system when her eyes widened, her pupils dilating and an expression of true terror crossed her face.

Her lips parted, forming an 'o' just before, as one, every single one of seeds _exploded_.

There was a brief moment of disorientation as the force of the blast sent both of them flying back and away from the explosion, and then Kaito felt his back colliding with something solid, his head cracking against it, and then everything went black.

* * *

Shinichi's vision was filled with white.

He didn't know how long he had been staring at the ceiling before he even recognized it as a ceiling. All he could process was 'white' and the steady beeping of something that had lead him from his dreamless sleep and back into the world of the awakening, although he didn't remember falling asleep. Didn't even remember what had happened to land him in the hospital-

Hospital?

Yes, this was a hospital. The white was the standard paint, and the beeping was the heart monitor. There was even an IV. But why was he-?

The clicking of a door drew his attention and he struggled to focus on the person entering the room. A man in a white coat - a doctor, his muddled brain supplied - stepped up to the bed checking his vitals, and although he was speaking it sounded like it was through a filter.

"Kudo-kun, my name is Masahide Akira. Nod if you can understand me."

Shinichi did so. The fog was lifting from him brain, but slowly. Drugs? They would account for the disconnected feeling, but why did he need-?

The doctor turned his full attention on Shinichi. Some part of the detective's mind supplied that the man should take his glasses off if he were near sighted. It would be so much easier than looking over them.

"You're in the hospital. You were brought in with a head injury and a concussion. Do you remember being attacked?"

Attacked? Shinichi tried to think back, but his memories were muddled at best, and even if he could have sworn he had all the pieces to the puzzle (if only he could _see_ them to put them together he could figure out what Masahide was talking about) something told him that wasn't right.

Slowly, Shinichi shook his head.

The doctor nodded. "That's alright. Sometimes people with concussions will suffer short term memory loss surrounding the event, but regain the memories later." He smiled, kindly. "Its perfectly normal if they don't also." Shinichi could tell the man thought it was probably a good thing.

Too bad he disagreed. He did _not_ like having holes in his memory, especially when there was something seriously wrong and he _knew_ it, if only he could remember-

A thought occurred to him and his brows furrowed. Before he realized what he was doing, Shinichi had already started scanning the room looking for someone...

Shinichi tried to speak, but all that came out as a croak, and he winced at the sound of it. His throat, he suddenly noticed was parched. He would ask for a drink as soon as he could figure out who he was supposed to remember, why they were important and why he felt this person could tell him what was really going on.

The doctor made a placating motion with his hand and then reached over to the bedside table where a cup with a lid and a straw was sitting. When offered, Shinichi took a grateful sip. "Now I'm going to leave this on the table here and leave to check another patient," the doctor said as he withdrew the cup. "You should be able to start moving around as soon as the drugs begin to wear off and we start to move you onto the kind that won't knock you out all the time when you're ready for them. This does not mean, however, you are to get out of bed. If you want to recover, you have to rest, and that means staying in bed for at least another 24 hours. After that we'll talk about your release."

"If you need anything in the meantime, press this," He held up a small box with a large button on it, laying it by Shinichi's hand. "Just press that."

Shinichi experimentally attempted to wrap his hand around the box, tapping, but not pressing, the button. It was slow, and his arm felt like it was still weighted down, but he could do it.

Satisfied with his patient's progress and his ability to call for help if he needed anything, the doctor took his leave, leaving Shinichi alone with his thoughts.

Why couldn't he remember this alleged attack? He couldn't even remember an event that would lead up to one. All he could remember was heading over to the hotel and parting ways with Kaito.

Kaito!

Like the partial parting of a veil, images tumbled into his mind: Going to inspect the car and Tadae asking questions. Seeing Ishimaru and calling Kaito and then... nothing.

The heart monitor's rhythm speed up slightly as Shinichi's eyes widened. Ishimaru had taken him again, and he had left his fate to Kaito and had hoped that the magician could find him and stop him before Ishimaru could kill Tadae. But where was the magician now and why wasn't he here? Surely, he'd want to know the moment Shinichi woke up, right?

Unless...

Shinichi's mind flashed to an image of Akimoto's dead body with her dark, dark throat and pasty, pale skin, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut and will the image away.

No. There was no way someone like Ishimaru could kill Kaito. There was no way. And yet the idea wouldn't entirely go away.

Shinichi grit his teeth and slowly raised the arm free of an IV. Inch by inch it rose and he experimentally gave it a flex. His mobility was still severely lacking, and he could feel the first lightest of twinges from his head (he'd need something for that, soon), but the drugs were wearing off. Soon he would be back to full mobility.

The corner of Shinichi's lips twitched into a smirk. Soon he would be able to move around; he'd find Kaito and figure out what had happened, because he was going to hope for the best, even as he feared the worst, until something changed his mind otherwise.

* * *

This wasn't the first time that Kaito had been rendered unconscious. It wasn't even the first time that he had collided with something such as a wall or door, and there had even been a window once. It didn't happen often, it was usually other people on the receiving of his deeds that had to worry about it, but it had happened enough that he knew what to expect and this...

This was not waking up. It was simply going from 'not aware' to 'aware' as if a light had been switched and he was just ...awake.

Even if he didn't feel very awake. He did, but he... didn't. Everything felt wrong and off and he wondered if this was an after effect of whatever Inaba had done to him earlier with the poppet.

Blinking, Kaito realized that he was standing. Probably the strangest position he'd found himself upon waking. He didn't remember standing up, he was just simply... already standing.

The next thing he realized was that everything looked watered down. Like someone had taken all the color out of the world and decreed that only blues, blacks, and grays could be used. He blinked again, wondering, with a sort of detached horror, if there was something wrong with his eyes. He had taken a blow to the head...

To his left there was a... it wasn't accurate to call it a 'rustle'. It was more a kind of 'ripple'. Not sound, more of a feeling. Like Kaito could _sense_ the movement without having to look. He was just simply aware of it, like he was aware of his own thoughts, and that was, quite frankly, the most alarming thing about the whole situation. Just how hard had he hit his head?

Turning was also an interesting experience. The movement simply flowed with a kind of ease that would have been disorienting if it didn't feel natural. Another thing to add to his growing list of disturbing new sensations. He could see Inaba (who was an odd reddish color, standing out vividly against the blues and grays of their surroundings) sitting up, holding a hand to her shoulder and wincing. She was hurt, but Kaito couldn't discern any reds to see if she was bleeding anywhere. She had already been wearing black, so he couldn't even pick it out that way either.

Another one of those odd ripples came Kaito's way, bringing with it the sensation of someone moaning. Inaba?

He opened his mouth to suggest, in an annoyed drawl that she should let him look at it, but he stopped when she lifted her eyes and met his.

Horror.

Even in this near colorless world, he could see it plain as day. Horror, followed by shortly by regret.

Kaito frowned. What was she looking at him like that for? He only had a possible head injury, it was her that might have a dislocated shoulder. He was going to comment on it, but she was already looking down, and _past_ him, her eyes filling with an intense amount of regret, and now that he noticed it, guilt.

Curious what she was looking at, Kaito sort of flow-turned (which was actually kind of amusing, if one ignored the creepiness of it), to see what she was looking at.

The sensation he felt was kind of like being kicked to the stomach, only there wasn't any pain, and now that he noticed it, he wasn't even _breathing_.

Not that he needed it anymore. Because he was looking at his body. Which was laying on the sidewalk, limp and prone and not moving, but then again, why would it if he was dead?

Kaito's mind stuttered over the word, unable to comprehend it. He just couldn't wrap his brain around the idea. He was only nineteen with his whole life ahead of him. He was going to be going to college in the fall to study drama and some of those foreign languages that weren't offered in regular schools. He was going to go on and make a name for himself, as Kuroba Kaito and not Kaitou Kid, and one day he would be more famous than even the famous Kudo Shinichi, not to mention, hopefully, spend the rest of his life with that same detective.

But now... Now, he was...

Oh, god.

He thought of stepping forward and didn't even notice how he just _glided_ forward instead. His eyes were riveted on his body. On the way, the body's eyes - _his_ eyes - were closed, as if he were asleep, and could, at any moment, wake up. One hand even rested near his head, fingers curled. The perfectly peaceful picture if someone could ignore the fact that he was, actually, dead.

He thought it almost had the same looking-in quality he'd experienced that one time he had talked Shinichi into pretending to be him, only this was so very much more powerful and devastating.

He thought about how this was going to devastate Aoko and his mother. Aoko had already lost her mother and now she had lost her best friend (even if he hadn't been all that great a friend lately, and all the things he never _told_ her...)

He couldn't imagine how much this was going to devastate his mother. She had already lost her husband, and now she had lost her son. Maybe he could talk Shinichi into passing her a message for him? Tell her how much he loved her, how much he was grateful for all her support, and how much he was going to miss her.

Kaito paused. Shinichi. What was this going to do to Shinichi? He couldn't imagine how bad it must be to see the ghost of someone he didn't know, but to see the ghost of someone he _did_ know? Had the detective ever felt that kind of loss before? Not that it ever prepared someone, but if this was the first time...

But Kaito had to see him. There was no way he was going to let Inaba get away with this. She had killed him. Stolen his future, his dreams, his _life_-

"You're not dead."

Kaito's thoughts stuttered to a halt. With agonizing slowness, even with the disorienting too-fast flow, he turned to Inaba, who was looking at him. Or rather, his hand.

What?

He must have said it. Or maybe it was written all over his face. Hope that had nothing to do with the physical sensation of an uplifting and everything to do with the literal brightening of the very soul, was creeping through him, and he tried to keep himself from hoping. How could she not see he was dead? His body was over there. And he was over here. Why else would that have happened if he weren't dead?

She nodded to his hand as opposed to pointing, apparently her shoulder hurting more than he thought (and part of him felt darkly glad for her pain). "Your life thread is still attached."

He raised his hand, looking down at it. Sure enough, there was a little thread, pulsing a faint silver - a stark, bright color against the darkness of the world around him - wrapped around his wrist and entwined around his clenched fingers (now that he noticed it, his mind seemed reluctant and unable to convince himself to release it). Following it along, it trailed along the floor, over, over until he could see it wrapped around the same wrist of his body. He hadn't even noticed it in the chaos of thinking he was dead.

A grin lit his face, and forgetting for a moment she was actually the cause of all this, Kaito turned to Inaba and asked, "How do I get back?"

He didn't even noticed his voice had no sound. It didn't even cross him mind to notice. It just simply was.

Inaba blinked at him. She squinted, mouthing his words back to herself like she was trying to understand them, which Kaito thought was strange, but it was hardly the strangest thing to happen so far. "Get back?" She finally said. She laughed, the ripple harsh and grating and Kaito found himself irritated by it. Her laughter had a darkness in it. "Why would I help you get back? This isn't what I wanted, but it works just as fine."

It _worked_ just as _fine_?

No, there was nothing that would work fine with this. He was going to get back into his body, and then he was going to give her a rather nasty surprise. She was also going to tell him why, exactly, she wanted him out of the picture before he turned her over to the police.

Determined, Kaito moved to approach his body, getting only as far as the door before something, like a wall, only kind of _bouncy_, repelled him; stopping him in his tracks. Dismayed, Kaito raised his hands to the 'wall,' pressing on it, and was furious when it didn't budge.

What. The. Hell.

Kaito glared at Inaba. "What is this?"

Inaba gave him a curious look. It made him feel like a mouse in a maze and Inaba was contemplating whether or not to remove the cheese. "Well, that was interesting."

He could feel his Poker Face setting into place. He was pleased he could use it, even like this. "What is, ojousan?"

She mouthed the words again, and he was beginning to wonder if she was having a hard time hearing him. "There's a barrier around the shop. To keep spirits out." She shook her head, carefully getting to her feet rolling her shoulder, and although she winced, she released it. "That barrier should be repelling you. Spiting you out of here, so to speak, and yet..."

She approached him, looking him over, and he let her. There wasn't really anything he could do. "Yet you're still in here." She emphasized this by passing her hand through his chest effortlessly, before pulling it back.

Kaito, despite himself, was fascinated by the fact that he didn't feel a thing when she did it. He had expected to feel something, anything, but she might as well have been playing with thin air for all the effect it had on him. It left him wanting to touch the area himself to see if _he_ could feel anything.

He smiled, just as polite as he imagined his tone. "Then why don't you get rid of the barrier, ojousan, and I can stop breaking it." He gestured to his body with a nod of the head in that direction. "Not to mention, I hardly think I'm all that comfortable over there."

Inaba looked past him to his body (which was a disturbing thought, even if he wasn't actually dead), tilting her head to the side. "I suppose I could move your body. Call someone down and ask them to help me move it some place more comfortable." She said it with a flippant tone. Like his body was just a piece of luggage.

Kaito also knew what she wasn't saying. "You're not going to lower the barrier."

Not a question.

This did _not_ please him. In the least. Already he was thinking of ways to annoy her until she lowered the barrier. Even if spirits couldn't touch things, he could be one hell of an unnerving presence and he wasn't afraid of spying on her at especially embarrassing moments to convince her to see things his way.

He was just cooking up one particularly embarrassing plan that would be worse on him than her - but he was ready to stoop that low - when the strangest ripple he'd felt yet washed over him, cutting off his thoughts and suddenly he couldn't even think period.

It was like someone had hit pause, only he was still aware, and out of his peripheral view he could see the little silver-white light flicker, like a old bulb. A sensation - like being cold, only not - crept through him and for one alarming moment, he felt like he was floating and wasn't _all there_. Just as quickly as it came, it lessened, not quite going away, but definitely wasn't overpowering anymore.

Ignoring the dread clawing at him, Kaito sought out the source of the sensation. He could tell, instinctively, where the ripple-feeling was coming from, but he couldn't tell what was making it. Just that it was coming from his left, outside the building.

Leaning as close to the barrier as he could without touching it, and ignoring Inaba's "What are you doing?", he searched the streets outside. He could just see something, a figure moving like a out of focus tv up the street. He could make out that it was a man, but beyond that, he didn't recognize him.

In the back of his mind, something instinctive warned that there was something wrong with this man, so very, very wrong, and they were in danger, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Once again putting the fact that she had essentially knocked his _soul_ out of his _body_ for the sake of something that every ounce of his being told him was more important to focus on, he gestured to the street and the strange man who moved even stranger. "Do you know him?"

Inaba didn't mouth his words again, but she still frowned in concentration. She raised her eyebrow at him, as if she was suspicious of a trap, before following where he was pointing.

The ripple that came off her gasp was so full of stark terror it literally disoriented him. He was going to have to mention that to Shinichi the next time - and there _would_ be a next time - he saw him: Emotions are powerful to spirits.

But he pushed that aside in favor of why she might be that scared. He didn't even have time to ask, when she whispered so low it was little more than a breathy exhale,  
"Kawaguchi."

Kaito's head snapped to the figure approaching the shop. _That_ was Kawaguchi Ishimaru? The same son of a bitch he had just seen earlier possessing Shinichi?

Well, that answered whether or not Ishimaru had left Shinichi's body.

Kaito's relief was short lived as he noticed that Ishimaru had never once looked in his or Inaba's direction and only seemed to have eyes for one thing.

Stories from old horror tales came to mind and Kaito had the suspicion he knew what Ishimaru planned to do.

Kaito turned on Inaba, urgent and done playing her game. "Lift the barrier."

Inaba didn't respond. Kaito remembered Shinichi saying ghosts couldn't talk and it looked like it applied to spirits as well. It certainly explained her repeating his words and he boggled he hadn't thought of it earlier.

Waving a hand in front of her face until she tore her eyes away from the approaching murderer, he repeated his demand.

She scoffed. "Absolutely not. I lower this barrier and I am immediately vulnerable. I am not wearing my mojo bag. He can possess me like he can probably possess your friend, if he can really see ghosts."

Kaito held onto his patience with a tedious thread that was growing thinner with each blip-step the other ghost made. "Think about it," he explained, enunciating his words so she could follow easier. "Soul." He pressed his hand to his chest. "Body," he pointed to his body. Making a gesture between himself and his body, he finished with as grave an expression as he could, "Body without a soul."

He could see her work it out. Several levels of surprise crossed her face, but when she said, "Oh," it didn't contain the emotion he wanted. It felt too... eager. Like she _wanted_ it to happen.

Later, when Kaito looked back on his fractured memories of his time outside his body, he would - above everything else - remember the instinct, and the desperation, that had lead to him reaching out to her without really knowing what he was planning on doing. He'd never forget the look on her face as she realized what he was about to try to do.

At the time, though, he aborted the motion almost as soon as he made it, horrified with himself that he would even _think_ of trying to possess her to get past the barrier. He would _never_ do such a thing to another person. Ever. Even if he had the power to do so.

"Sorry," he mouthed, even if he couldn't put the sincerity in his tone to go with it. It was written all over his face. Whatever the situation, it was unforgivable, and he wasn't above apologizing, even if it was minutely.

Inaba never saw his lips move. She was already turning away, even as he'd started apologizing, and had started towards her charred register counter. Kaito watched her, a frown tugging at his brows, as she gathered something up. Every now and then, she looked up, past him and out the doors. Kaito assumed she was tracking Ishimaru's progress. The bastard ghost had stopped just over Kaito's body and Kaito could almost feel it watching him, as if waiting for him to do something.

If it was waiting for his attention, it would just have to wait.

Inaba finished what she was doing, coming around the counter. Kaito caught sight of a little mojo bag in her hand and blinked at it. Unlike the other inanimate items around them, the bag, like Inaba, had color. The little bag seeming to pulse and glow an ugly, vivid red that instinctively put him on guard. Everything in his being told him to keep away from that bag.

Too bad he was never good at listening to the rules.

Kaito threw himself between the door and Inaba, forgetting that he was as incorporeal as air at that point. Inaba, regardless, stopped several feet from him and the door, glaring at him.

"Drop the barrier." Kaito knew he had nothing to bargain with, didn't even have a physical presence to back up his demand, but it wasn't going to stop him from trying.

Inaba merely shook her head, fingers tightening on her bag, before she thrust it out in the space between them; bringing it to bare on him.

It was like something had hijacked Kaito's senses, his being moving without though and suddenly he was trying to back away from the bag, only to run into the shield. Like before, it repelled him, and as the only way to escape the shield and the bag was to go sideways, that was the way Kaito found himself going.

Incidentally, also, leaving the witch's path completely free.

Kaito cursed as Inaba surged forward, not wasting her opportunity. By the time Kaito regained control of himself, she was already beyond the barrier and out of his reach. He watched, unable to do anything, as she raced past Ishimaru, who still had yet to move, and stuffed her bag in her pocket.

Ishimaru followed her with it's eyes, it's head turning to accommodate, until she disappeared from view down some seemingly random street. Never once did the smile leave it's lips, even as it turned back to face Kaito, eyes taunting him in his prison.

It's eyes also held a kind of promise, dark and murderous, and Kaito knew, even without the bastard telling him, what it planned to do with his body once he took it: it was going to find Inaba and kill her.

As much as Kaito was rather furious with the witch at the moment, he didn't want her dead. Especially not by someone using his body to do so.

Kaito balled his hands into fists, unable to do anything but watch helplessly as Ishimaru mouthed a "Thank you," and proceeded to, for all intents and purposes, fall back onto his body. Fervently, Kaito prayed that it wouldn't work, that somehow, someway, because he wasn't like Inaba or Shinichi, that Ishimaru wouldn't be able to do it. Certainly that had to count for something, right?

But his hopes were in vain. Slowly, like water settling into it's new shape, Ishimaru's ghost shrunk and twisted until it completely disappeared within Kaito's uninhabited body. For a moment, all was still and Kaito continued hoping, even as he already knew that it was too late.

And then, he saw it. His fingers - _his body's_ fingers - twitched. Slowly, the chest rose and Kaito 'heard' his body take a deep breath, the eyes fluttering open mere seconds later. Despite the sheer disturbing factor of the whole thing, Kaito almost found the whole thing interesting.

Except for the fact that his body was now being in habited by a _murderer_. Who planned to _kill_ people.

With smooth, easy movements, Ishimaru rolled onto his side, rubbing at his - Kaito's - neck and shoulder. There would be a bruise there, Kaito just knew, from the impact with the door. He could vaguely remember the area taking the brunt of the attack. If it was bothering Ishimaru, though, it didn't bother him for long. The body snatcher climbed to his feet, testing his balance, which seemed almost precarious for several moments before evening out.

Turning, the ghost looked to the empty space that was supposed to be the doorway, and Kaito realized, as the bastard looked _through_ him, that he was no longer able to see him. Ishimaru, regardless, smiled at the empty air, the expression looking wrong and twisted on Kaito's face and the magician wanted nothing more than to reach out and wrangle the ghost's neck until it left his body.

Despite the fact that Kaito knew it would repel him, and that it was futile, he lashed out at the barrier. It did indeed repel him, but the smile on Ishimaru's face faltered slightly in an almost satisfying way. A part of Kaito, one that seemed able to think outside the slowly rising panic that threatened to take over all of his thoughts, wondered what the ghost had seen.

Ishimaru shook himself, raising a hand and waving more at the doorway than the trapped magician. With little else, the ghost turned away from the shop and headed off at first an easy walk, picking up to a jog, in the direction Inaba had disappeared in.

All it seemed Kaito's actions had done was just reinforce how helpless he was to stop the ghost.

Kaito stood alone in Inaba's shop; angry, panic licking at the edges of his being, and the only thing keeping him from giving in was his unwillingness to give up. There had to be a way out of this place. Some weak spot that could let him out and allow him to find his body, or Shinichi, or both.

Kaito backed up and ran his hands along the walls of the house, pressing only enough to feel the barrier without actually trying to encounter it. It was strange, to come up to the interior walls and be able to pass through them if only because it was just another reminder of just how _wrong_ the situation was.

He passed around the house; once, and then twice, even trying the upper floors and the roof, but as no escape presented itself, Kaito's quiet frustration and panic grew.

There had to be a way out. There just had to be. Not escaping was not an alternative.

Coming to stop where he'd started, Kaito stared out into the beyond, wracking his brain for a solution he already knew he didn't have. This was just too out of his element, but he had always prided himself on working outside the box. He thought of things spur of the moment all the time with information he didn't even know could be relevant to his current situation. Surely he could do so right then.

Frustrated, and looking for inspiration, Kaito glared up at the plant hanging over the door. He could see the leaves, charred and burnt almost to the point they were gone and the little blackened berries, once red, littered around the sidewalk, most likely knocked off by the door coming off. Tilting his head to the side, Kaito blinked as it occurred to him that there was no reason for the plant to be black. Especially not when they had just been red and green when he'd entered.

Experimenting, and more than a little curious, Kaito reached out and pressed on the barrier. It, like before, pushed back, only now that he was watching the plant, he noticed how a small wisp of smoke trailed off it, dissipating in seconds.

Kaito grinned. It was a minor improvement, but it was more than enough to improve his mood dramatically. Rubbing his hands together the magician turned his attention full force on the barrier, murmuring, "It's show time."

The barrier never stood a chance.

* * *

Shinichi patiently reclined against the pillows he'd been propped up on, giving the illusion that he was still weaker and much more out of it than he really was. In actuality, despite the pain it was causing him, Shinichi had failed to take another douse of morphine, wanting to be fully alert and ready to slip out of the hospital the moment the opportunity presented itself.

Glancing at the door, Shinichi mused on his other concern: Kaito had yet to show up in the six hours since he had regained consciousness. As he had been feigning sleep the last time the nurse had come in, he hadn't been able to ask if anyone had contacted him.

While it was understandable for the first few hours, the more time passed, the less Shinichi was able to push aside the nameless dread sitting in his belly like a dead weight. By all rights, they should have contacted him the moment Shinichi had woken up.

So, where was he?

Pushing away images of dead bodies and smirking figures in white running the police around in circles, Shinichi raised himself up on one elbow and tossed the sheets aside with the other. If his clothes were in the room, they'd be in the little closet-like structure in the corner. From the time he pulled the heart monitor wires, he'd have seconds (in an 'ideal situation') up to a minute before staff burst through the door.

More than enough time to drop a makeshift rope and get out the window even if he had to do so in his hospital gown.

Standing and grabbing some sheets, Shinichi set to the task of tightening and securing the ends, still periodically glancing at the door. He wished there had been a privacy curtain drawn to hide him from the large glass windows, but he knew there had been no need to pull them for a patient that may - or may not - be able to call for help if it came down to it. He could appreciate the gesture even if he still wish they'd pulled it.

Movement came from the corner of his eye, coming from the direction of the window (funny, he hadn't heard it open), and it was only because the room's temperature hadn't plummeted that Shinichi calmly, albeit tensely, turned back to face the window.

Shinichi blinked. That... That looked an awful lot like Kaito. If he had been dropped in flour from head to toe, and what was that little silver string hanging from his hand, and going out the window-

Shinichi's brain corrected itself, as Kaito stood back up from where he'd been crouched, that the thread wasn't going _out_ an open window, it was going _through the wall right under it_.

Most importantly, Kaito didn't just look like he'd been dropped in flour or white paint, he was completely white. Head to toe, he was white, not even a hint of color hidden under it. It was almost like he was a ghost.

Which was impossible since for one thing: the room had yet to grow colder and for another: Kaito was a master of disguise. Making himself completely white was hardly above his capabilities. It was rather tasteless for a joke and why he would do so, baffled Shinichi, but he could still do it.

Shinichi almost laughed at the thought. It also wasn't unheard of for Kaito to get in and out of a room without there being a single sound to testify to it. The thread was a mystery he'd have to figure out later, after he got out of the room and Ishimaru was stopped and he had time to think about it. In the meantime, he was just thrilled to see Kaito.

"You're late," he murmured to the magician, tightening the last knot and moving down to the end of the bed. The wires just barely allowed the distance, and even then he had to be careful.

Kaito grinned at him, the whole thing looking odd on his bleach white face (which was disturbing on so many levels), and he took a step closer, not even paying attention to the table he was going to bump into.

Shinichi opened his mouth to dryly comment about subtly when the words died in his mouth upon seeing Kaito come in contact with the edge of the table. He didn't bump into it.

He _passed through it_.

Kaito paused, looked down at his hip, which was still partially in the table and then quickly took a step away from the table, expression looking just as disturbed as Shinichi imagined he looked. The detective was aware that the magician's mouth was moving, that he appeared to be saying something about how he'd 'never get used to that,' but Shinichi couldn't hear it. He would have thought he'd gone deaf, but he could still dimly hear the sound of the heart monitor beating in the background, the tempo slightly quickened with his distress.

Shinichi's hand came up, as if on it's own accord and reached out. Kaito stepping away from the table had put him in arm's reach and Shinichi was more than capable of reaching out and touching him without pulling the wires.

Shinichi saw his hand reach out and encounter nothing instead of the solid, warm wall of flesh he was expecting. He saw the tips pass through, and disappear into the white of Kaito's chest. It was funny, almost, how the only thing that crossed his mind that he didn't feel any cold chill from the contact and it was just typical that, even in death, Kaito still broke all the rules and didn't act like a typical ghost.

Death. Ghost. The words stole Shinichi's breath and he would have sworn his heart had stopped beating if the monitor was still _thu-thumping_ along behind him in testimony that it hadn't. Pulling his hand away, Shinichi stared down at it as if it were to blame for not being able to touch Kaito and being all the proof that he was...

No.

_No._ Stop thinking that, he told himself, firmly, coldly, even as his senses warred with his disbelief. There was no way Kaito could be-

A small keen tore from his throat and Shinichi let it. He didn't care what anyone thought of him in that moment, because what was something as frivolous as dignity next to the cold, heart wrenching knowledge that Kaito was dead? The weight of the revelation nearly made his knees buckle and it was only years and years of being exposed to death and knowing, _knowing_, that he could loose anyone he loved at a given moment that allowed him to stay on his feet.

Like a blanket, a deep set numbness fell over him, even as his grief rallied against it and settled into a sickness in his belly. He could feel the alert, calm determination to solve a murder rising in his analytical mind and his eyes were already searching Kaito's ghost for signs of what might have ended his life.

All ghosts carried evidence of their deaths, whether it be the wrinkles that attested to their old age or the gory mess that was their violent end. Even poisonings left signs if you knew what to look for. Automatically, Shinichi studied the white flesh around Kaito's neck, relieved not to see the angry black bruises he'd almost been expecting there.

Whatever had killed him, it didn't appear to be Ishimaru strangling him.

Next, Shinichi gave the magician a once over. There was no evidence of blood anywhere on Kaito's front, and he didn't recall seeing anything when he'd caught a glimpse of Kaito's back when he'd moved away from the table. Shinichi frowned, puzzled. There wasn't even dark smudges under Kaito's eyes from the lack of sleep the magician had gotten because of spending the whole night looking for him.

A part of Shinichi's brain, the one that had always openly admired Kaitou Kid and later Kuroba Kaito himself laughed and reminded him that Kaito wasn't acting like a typical ghost, why should he start by looking like one?

It still didn't help him figure out what he killed him.

Kaito must have read the horror or recognized the look on his face as his 'detective mode,' because the magician was looking at him in exasperation and Shinichi wasn't going to think about how much he was going to miss even that or he'd go down and he didn't think he'd be able to get up for a while. He was saying something, lips and body moving with the story, and for a moment Shinichi was so transfixed with just _watching him_, most likely for the last time, like this, that he missed whole portions of the story.

When Shinichi forced himself to pay attention, to concentrate on the movement of Kaito's lips as to actually _read_ them, Kaito was just starting on about a woman and a scuffle. Shinichi suddenly realized how much he took for granted actually hearing Kaito speak instead of having to read his lips, because the words were tumbling out of his mouth almost to the point that Shinichi couldn't understand them.

And Shinichi was very certain he'd said something about a body snatcher. Kaito punctuated the words by curling his hands into claws as if he were meaning to grab something, the distance between them roughly that of a human throat, and Kaito very distinctly said, 'that murderous bastard.'

Shinichi felt as if the world might fall away again, his mind unable to think of anyone that could be other than, "Kawaguchi?"

Kaito's actions stopped and his gaze darted up to meet his. He nodded his head in affirmative and gave Shinichi a thumbs up as he said, "That's the guy!"

The memory of the fuzzy view of a security video filtered into Shinichi's consciousness, replaying before his eyes as if he were watching it right then. In perfect detail, the scene played out Akimoto's murder, only Shinichi's sadistic imagination, fueled with the images of far too many murders and his own personal nightmares, replaced Akimoto with Kaito.

Fearful eyes stared up at him, as he only grinned and grinned, hands tightening around the magicians neck until finally, after seconds that seemed like an eternity, _he stopped moving_, wide eyes caught forever in an expression of betrayal and terror.

Shinichi's stomach lurched and his vision swam. He only just barely made it to the trash can, nestled between the bed and the equipment, before heaving. His breakfast was long gone, leaving him with only the acid taste of saliva and bile as his stomach still clenched and convulsed with the effort. His legs, too shaky to take sudden movement, finally gave out, and he slumped against the bed while still partially bent over the trash can.

It occurred to him that everything he was doing was in perfect view of anyone that happened to walk by. He would look extremely strange, randomly reacting to 'nothing' and then throwing up, but, yet again, he just couldn't seem to get himself to care.

Kaito was dead. And Ishimaru had used _him_ to do it. How was he going to explain this to Kaito's mother and his friends when he got back and how was he ever going to live with himself?

_Could_ he ever live with himself after this?

He wasn't so sure he could.

White hands filled his vision, the hairs standing on end telling him, since physical sensation could not, where Kaito was touching him. He was probably worrying him, acting like this. He was supposed to be stronger than this, he was, even if he felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and stomped on.

Shinichi wiped at the spit that had dribbled down his chin with the sleeve of his gown, forcing himself to look up at Kaito and try to pull himself together. The magician looked relieved when Shinichi made eye contact with him, asking, "Oi, are you alright?"

What a funny, terrible thing to ask him right then.

He bit his tongue against his first response, settling for a nod instead. When he got himself under control enough to speak, his voice came out as a croak. He wasn't sure Kaito could even hear the tone to make the distinction.

"How long ago?"

Kaito blinked at the question, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

Shinichi didn't want to elaborate, but he did it anyway. "How long have you been dead?"

The magician's expression went blank with incomprehension. "Dead?" Kaito pointed to himself, and said, "I'm not dead."

Shinichi wanted to laugh until he cried. Of course, Kaito wouldn't be able to accept his death. He knew Kaito's dreams, his plans, to a degree. He knew just how much _living_ Kaito had left to do, so why would he be able to accept that it was over?

Shinichi was sure something was going to break inside him to convince Kaito he was dead, but he had to, because the alternative was Kaito never passing on and becoming something that, after long enough, would no longer _be_ Kaito and Shinichi would break a hundred times over again before he ever allowed that to happen.

"Only ghosts can pass through things," he countered, tilting his head to motion to the table. "Not even you can pass through inanimate objects."

Kaito shook his head, eyes widening in horror. Shinichi thought it was because he was finally getting it (and oh, how that _hurt_) but Kaito was looking between the trash can and the detective, mouth working, but not even Shinichi's ability to read lips could decipher any words. He wondered, if Kaito could speak, if he wouldn't have been soundless anyway.

Kaito surged forward, hands coming up to rest on Shinichi's shoulders, only to pass through them. Frustration was evident, even through the Poker Face, when this happened, and Kaito pulled his hands away as if he'd been burned. Compromising, he made a rolling gesture with one hand, the silver thread waving gently around with the movement, as if he were trying to find the words he wanted.

"I'm not dead," he repeated, and when Shinichi opened his mouth to interject, Kaito silenced him with a glare and a finger that should have connected with his nose, but instead Kaito kept an inch under it. "_Listen_. I. Am. Not. Dead. I'm only out of my body."

Shinichi frowned, not sure he'd read that right. "Out of body experience?" he offered, despite how ridiculous it sounded.

Kaito nodded, clearly approving of this answer. "Inaba did something funny and it resulted in me being knocked out of my body." Kaito's face twisted into a scowl. "Which that body snatcher guy stole." He glared at Shinichi. "I already said that."

Oh. So, that's what he meant by body snatcher.

Shinichi's eyes widened as a different sort of story played out before his mind's eye. Of witches with strange motives and the stories of ghosts who the stole empty shells of people who liked to wander too far. It was still far fetched, but hope was undying and Shinichi wanted to cling to it, if only Kaito would give him undeniable proof. "Kaito, I..."

Kaito's brows furrowed, and he glared around the room, chewing on his lower lip as he looked for something Shinichi suspected to be inspiration or proof. After a moment, he stopped, attention seeming to drop down to his hand and Shinichi followed his gaze out of reflex.

Kaito's eyes light up, and he all but thrust his hand under Shinichi's nose again, this time making sure Shinichi saw the little, silver thread that had been wrapped around Kaito's hand this whole time.

Shinichi failed to see it's significance and stated so, causing Kaito to give him an irritated glare. Shinichi realized that while being preoccupied by the thread he had probably missed whatever Kaito had said.

"This is connected to my body."

Shinichi stared at Kaito for a long moment, taking in the way the magician seemed to be pleading with him to believe him, before looking down at the silver thread. His eyes widened as he slowly, slowly, _got it_; got the significance of the little silver thread - no, a silver _cord_ - and everything it meant.

Shinichi could almost taste his relief, body relaxing and he very nearly forgot he couldn't actually touch Kaito to forgo any sense of dignity and just _cling_ to him, he was so happy.

Kaito was still alive. His body had been stolen, _but Kaito was still alive_.

Although, Shinichi couldn't help but wonder, "Why didn't you try to get it back?"

Kaito's expression was unreadable beyond the fact that it had darkened. Shinichi made a mental note to ask in detail what had happened while he was unconscious. The magician shook his head. "I don't know how. At the very least, I need help stopping him."

And if Inaba was behind Kaito being knocked out of his body, and therefore not someone he could go to for help, that only left Shinichi.

Shinichi didn't shudder at the irony of the reversal of their roles, although it didn't escape him. He nodded, getting to his feet and glancing at the clock over the bed. He'd lost time during the conversation, but he had some time yet before the nurse was scheduled to come back.

Not that it would matter the moment he pulled the cords.

"How busy was the parking lot?" Shinichi made sure to watch Kaito's mouth for the reply, even as he pulled the wires.

Kaito glanced at the monitor, an odd look crossing his face, while he said, "Not that busy. Wasn't when we came in the first time either."

Shinichi nodded, quickly making his way to the closet, counting the seconds as he went.

Ten seconds; There was his pants and shoes. He could do without the shirt until he hit the ground.

Fifteen seconds; his pants were on, and he was working on the first shoe.

Twenty seconds; he could see Kaito looking to the door, figured he was warning about the oncoming staff, but Shinichi was too focused on getting his other shoe on.

Twenty five seconds; he was going for the window, dropping the hospital gown on the bed and grabbing the make-shift rope as he went.

Thirty seconds; he was already climbing out the window, shirt dropped to the ground below.

By the time the staff entered the room, some forty five seconds after heart monitor's alarm went off, Kudo Shinichi was already gone.

-  
_To be continued_  
-

NEXT: The boys try to track down Ishimaru while their problems just keep piling up.

Author's Notes II: I have done some very moderate research into Wicca and Witchcraft, but, admittingly, I haven't done any on their beliefs over what herb or plant does what. The reactions of the poppy seeds is entirely fabricated (although they really are believed to protect you from witchcraft).

The plant above the door was a branch from a Rowan Tree, believed to send evil spirits away.

Yes, there is a reason why Kaito could stay in the shop and not be effected by the plants (besides the fact that he's not evil. You'll just have to wait and see to find out why. ;)

And because I'm a dork: the kanji for Inaba's shop: 盲魔法窓. The idea was for the translation to be "Blind Magic Window." LOL, I have no idea why I chose that name or how well I succeeded. XD


	9. As if to Hold It's Breath

AN: _Tumble_ is done, has been for a month, but RL has kicking my butt and I fell behind on getting this up. (Sorry!) No fears, I should get the last chapter up in two weeks. :)

-  
Chapter Nine  
_As if to Hold it_'_s Breath  
_-

"So, Inaba wanted to take you out of the picture-" Shinichi's tone deadpanned out, the biggest indication of what he thought of what he was saying, "-By using magic."

Kaito nodded, bringing the hand that wasn't wrapped around his silver cord up to his chin. "She's planning something, not sure what though."

Shinichi frowned. Despite his lack of belief in magic or the like, he was still irritated with the attack itself on Kaito. He didn't like the idea of anyone trying to kill his lover, and although she hadn't succeeded, at least not the way she wanted, she sort of had.

Kaito was very much out of the picture like this.

"Any idea why this... 'spell'... didn't work? Did she say anything at all why she was doing it?" Anything at all could be a trigger, and he knew that Kaito had been around crime scenes and interrogations long enough to know this (he firmly ignored the part of his mind that was equal parts pleased and horrified with his own personal role in this and it's opinion on the subject).

Kaito grinned, as if he were in on a joke that Shinichi wasn't privy to. "Same reason Akako's spells never work right on me?"

Shinichi's expression pinched, like he had just eaten a particularly sour lemon, and studied Kaito's face, looking for some sign of The Big Joke. Was he serious?

Ignoring the look, Kaito's own expression grew serious and it was obvious he was just as displeased with the situation as Shinichi was. "I have no clue, but I do know that whatever she's up to, it's something to do with you. I think." He paused, thought about it, and then nodded, adding, "Definitely sure that's what she meant."

Shinichi blinked, not seeing what he had to do with this anymore than Kaito might have. "What?"

Kaito gave him a side glance. "She was very interested in if you could see ghosts." He pulled his hand away from his chin to raise a finger in emphasis of his point. "Asked it like she already knew."

Shinichi didn't like the sound of that. Didn't like being a pawn in a game that seemed to have far too many directions and no way of telling where each piece of the puzzle fell into place - if they were even part of the same bigger picture. He shook his head. "We'll just have to be careful. One problem at a time. First we deal with getting your body back, then we see what to do about Kawaguchi. We deal with Inaba when we need to."

Kaito nodded in agreement, letting the conversation die off as he concentrated on the task at hand.

In the distance, the sun hung low on the horizon, promising nightfall was on the way. It's heat was already beginning to wane, but it had not given up it's hold on the day just yet.

Shinichi raised a hand against the light, the sun at just that point that any attempt to block it was almost futile, short of completely blinding one's self. Beside him, as best he could tell, Kaito was unaffected. His eyes were locked on the little silver cord, brows drawn in concentration. It was odd how, as the magician walked, not a single inch of it trailed along behind him. It was almost as if it was just... unstretching. He thought he could see it thickening, growing in bulk millimeter by millimeter, but it could have just been his imagination.

He knew, one some level, that in all honesty, he wasn't even studying the cord, not really. It _was_ interesting, from a distant point of view. Shinichi would have loved to be left alone with it for a day - or more - investigating it and all the theories he only half remembered from his excessively broad research on the subject, but it was merely an excuse to cover up what he was actually doing.

Truthfully, Shinichi didn't want to let Kaito out of his sight. He wouldn't even be aware he was staring until he realized whole streets had gone by and he hadn't even noticed. He just couldn't seem to tell himself to look away for longer than the time it took to take in his surroundings and mentally calculate where they were, before his eyes would be drawn back like a magnet.

He was reminded of the old Greek tale of Orpheus and Euridice, and how Orpheus had almost gotten her back from the very clutches of death only to lost her forever simply because he couldn't bare to not _look_.

He didn't think he'd ever underestimate Orpheus' weakness again.

A part of him was waiting to wake up and this all be a dream. He wished it was, starting right from the moment they drove into this town and that they were still asleep at that last rest stop.

The rest of him was just afraid. Afraid that something would go wrong. Afraid Kaito was really dead. Afraid of what that lunatic could be doing with Kaito's body. He wasn't sure what he would do if Kaito or anyone else died because of this madman.

It was more reflex, than any real threat of running into a physical barrier, to stop when Kaito's arm shot out, blocking his path. Shinichi's mind cleared of all thoughts, as he mentally pushed them to the side to focus on the there and then.

"Kaito?"

Shinichi remembered seconds too late that he couldn't hear Kaito's voice, had to watch his lips, and only caught part of the response. "-coming. More than one."

Shinichi would have to apologize later. He hoped the magician understood in the meantime. "What's coming?"

Kaito looked at him. There was no frustration in his in the corners of his frown, only traces of worry.

"Ghosts."

Shinichi went cold and it took several long moments of listening to just the rush of his blood in his ears, and for the world to refocus, for him to realize it wasn't from the drop in temperature, but real fear. He didn't think himself capable of ever looking at ghosts the same way, now that he knew what they were capable of.

"Where?"

Shinichi didn't need the response, he could already see them, feel the first brushes of cold in the air, even as Kaito was pointing. There wasn't many, just four of them - Shinichi told himself that it was nothing to be bothered by; that he had seen them in larger groups before - but as they appeared one-by-one, Shinichi felt as if someone had reached into his chest and _squeezed_ at his lungs, trying to steal his breath.

Beside him, Kaito moved to stand front and center, placing himself between Shinichi and the ghosts, and the tense lines of his shoulders said everything of how he was prepared to protect him if necessary. The detective didn't like needing to be protected; didn't like this feeling of helplessness, but he wasn't a fool. He couldn't protect himself again even one ghost, and this was a whole group of them.

He stepped closer, not just for the comfort, but to try and keep in view of Kaito's face at all times.

Thankfully, the need for protection proved to be unnecessary. The ghosts didn't even appear to see them.  
Shinichi studied their vacant expressions as they passed, more than a little curious as his fears settled back down to something more manageable. It wasn't that seeing a ghost that wasn't all there was anything new for Shinichi, but even the ones that were so lost in their own little perceptions of the world that they couldn't even see the real one anymore showed _some_ emotion. It could be anything from ignorant bliss to distant fear, but there was always something.

These ghosts... There was nothing. Just a blank staring ahead, as if they were in a trance.

Was such a thing even possible? Could there really be a way to control a ghost? To put it into a trance and pull the invisible strings? What would be the gain and did he even want to find out?

The teens stayed perfectly still, waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the ghosts to notice them, and only moved to turn their head to keep from ever losing sight of them. When they were gone, passing beyond their sight, Shinichi muttered, "What is going on in this town? It was almost like they were under your average, every day hypnosis." He knew Kaito didn't have the answers either, was merely thinking out loud, and as such was only partially watching for a response.

"There's a voice."

Shinichi blinked, not sure he had read that right. "What?"

Kaito tilted his head to the side, eyes closing and brought his hands up to cup his ears to listen for something Shinichi couldn't hear. "There's a voice, calling for someone. It wants something. Wants..."

Shinichi noticed the blank look fall across Kaito's face, different from his Poker Face in that it was just _lifeless_, not just emotionless. Warning bells went off in his head when Kaito opened his eyes and they were just as blank. "Kaito?"

The magician took a step forward, towards the direction the other spirits had gone, lips moving, but not really saying anything.

Shinichi threw himself between Kaito and whatever the hell was calling him. This was bad. Extremely bad. If this thing that had entranced the others got Kaito, there was nothing he could actually physically do to stop him from going. After all, all Kaito had to do was just walk right through him and carry on his hypnotized way.

"Kaito, you idiot," he growled. "Wake up!" When Kaito failed to respond, just took another step forward, Shinichi could feel his panic spiking. "Come on, you're stronger than this. Magic-" the word nearly stuck in his throat the concept too bizarre, but he had no other explanation for this, "-Isn't supposed to work on you, remember?"

Dammit, he wouldn't - couldn't - loose Kaito. Not like this. Not to something that he couldn't even fight.

He wasn't sure what got through, the words or the horror that colored them, but Shinichi could see awareness return to Kaito's eyes like the raising of a veil. Kaito blinked at him, once, twice, as if he couldn't figure out when Shinichi had moved. He shook his head, pressing the heal of his palms to his ears, and Shinichi could just barely make out him saying, "Bad voice. Creepy voice. Not listening to creepy voice anymore."

Shinichi moved restlessly, wanting to touch the magician and his hands had risen before he knew he'd done it. They hung, frozen, above Kaito's arms uselessly. "Kaito? Can you hear me?"

"We need to find my body. Soon." Shinichi could see Kaito's face well enough to gauge any emotion. It was perhaps the way that Kaito's face was smoothed out, not like it was before, but with his Poker Face, that showed how bothered he was with what had happened. "I can still hear it, calling out for me - us, any spirits - to come to it. I don't know how long I can ignore it."

Shinichi frowned, hands falling away as Kaito straightened. "Can you tell who - what? - it is?"

Kaito shook his head, his own hands falling to his sides, and Shinichi noted how he pointedly did _not_ look behind Shinichi and in the direction of the voice, but at Shinichi himself. "Not a clue. But let's not stick around to find out, yes?"

The detective agreed full heartedly.

Finding Kaito's body was turning out to be easier said than done. Even with Kaito's silver cord to guide them, it seemed that Ishimaru had vanished off the face of the Earth and had taken his stolen body with him.

Just how far had Ishimaru gotten while they were preoccupied?

In the distance, the sun kissed the horizon and while night fall would not hinder their search, it would be odd for a stranger to be wandering around after night fall.

Shinichi looked to Kaito, watched as he tugged the cord, frowning, and then stopped completely. Shinichi came to a halt, caution in every line of his figure. "Is something wrong?"

Kaito grinned, something mischievous in the curve of his lips. "He's close. No more than a few blocks-" The magician broke off, turning back in the direction they came. "Heads up, something's come this way - fast."

"Is this some kind of ghost sense, or something?" Shinichi tensed, catching the shrug of Kaito's shoulders out of the corner of his eye. "More ghosts?"

He really hoped it wasn't. Whether he was seen or Kaito taken with them this time, neither was an appealing detour.

Kaito shook his head. "Something large. Not living itself, but with living things in it."

Something large with living things in it. Moving fast. "A car?"

Kaito looked like he was thinking the same thing, and nodded. "More than one, whatever it is."

Shinichi heard them before he saw them, his musings answered as the first high pitched siren met his ears: a police car. At least two of them, if the out of sync sirens was anything to go by.

The first car came barreling around the corner, some two or three hundred meters down the side road Kaito and Shinichi had followed the cord onto, followed by a second. They lowered their speeds accordingly, and Shinichi instinctively stepped off the road in response to seeing them. He was expecting them to go speeding past them and knew something was odd when they didn't. Instead, they came to a stop not that far from where they were standing.

A white hand invaded his view of the cars, made him jerk, head turning to face Kaito. The magician was still watching the cars, but he was still mostly facing Shinichi. "Something isn't right with these people. They know they're about to do something wrong. Going to do it anyway." Kaito looked like he itched to put himself between Shinichi and the cops, like he had with the ghosts, and was frustrated that it would be useless in this case. "Shinichi, we need to leave. _Now_."

"What?" Shinichi didn't mean to say it out loud, but the fact that Kaito was implying that he could somehow tell the cops' emotions; intentions; whatever, before they even did anything was a little too disconcerting.

Kaito didn't have time to argue his cause. The first cops were getting out of the cars and Shinichi noted they weren't coming around them. He recognized the tactic, but he wasn't sure why they were using it here, when there was no one else around - at least to the cops - except for him.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed as the guns appeared, the cops still safe from whatever threat they were perceiving behind their doors and/or the cars, itself. There was no reason to do something like that unless they were about to-

Shinichi took in how all the guns were pointing right at him.

Forget before, _this_ was not good.

"Kudo Shinichi, put your hands up were we can see them."

"What is this about, officers?" Shinichi called, holding perfectly still, hands still tucked in his pockets.

"We will repeat this again," The officer, the one that had spoken before, continued. Shinichi could see him sitting in the passenger seat of the first car, hand on the mic. "Put your hands up were we can see them."

Shinichi slowly raised his hands, mind racing to try and figure out the next best course of action. He could run, try to take cover and possibly buy himself more time to escape, but this wasn't his town and he didn't know these roads. This was an old, industrial street, full of businesses and alleys, but he couldn't know where any went and it wouldn't do to get caught after choosing to flee. If he was going to take that route, he had to know he could escape.

Getting shot down was out of the question.

There was still the possibility this was all a misunderstanding, although he had a very good idea what this was about.

An officer poked his head out from around the door of the first car, Shinichi guessing him to be the partner of the man on the mic. Shinichi didn't move except to track the man's progress with his eyes. He was a bit surprised to recognize him as one of Ishida's officers, Mizuguchi. That meant that the driver had to be... yes, there was his partner and lead police photographer, Tsunemasa. He didn't recognize, as they appeared, the two officers in the second car.

"Put your hands on your head," Mizuguchi ordered, stopping several meters away. Easily out of arms reach, but there was no way a bullet could miss from that distance unless the officer's hand shook.

Shinichi noted it was dead still. Mizuguchi, despite his youth, had used one before.

The teen detective did as he was told. "What is this about, officers?"

"You're under arrest," a large man, one of the cops from the second car, explained. He was easily larger than Mizuguchi and even Ishida, and it wasn't just his height. This man liked to work out and it had been very good for him. "For the murders of Akimoto Haruko and her cousin, Amago Tadae."

It wasn't very often, but there were times that he _really_ hated being right. "I didn't kill Akimoto-san." Almost as an after thought, he asked, honestly, "Amago-san is dead?"

_Dammit_. So she hadn't escaped. Shinichi was going to beat himself up over it when this was done.

The large man snorted, coming around Mizuguchi, but never between the gun and Shinichi. The hand that wasn't on his gun was reaching down for his cuffs. "Cute, but you're not going to talk your way out of this one."

Shinichi winced as the man's beefy hand curled around his wrist, squeezing harder than necessary. The man was trying to hurt him. "What evidence do you have?" The question was more to find out himself.

"More than enough," was the only answer. The man twisted Shinichi's other arm around, again going for a mild amount of abuse. Shinichi could tell he was angry about something, could feel it in the slight tremble in the way the man was _holding back_, and wondered if this was just about the murders.

Shinichi didn't have to wait long for an answer, once the cuffs were in place, the man tugged at him, forcing him to stand still as the officer invaded his personal space (deliberately trying to be rude. Shinichi wouldn't have been surprised if the man thought he didn't deserve even that much) and growled in his ear. "You thought we wouldn't see right through you? Thought you could make a fool of us by waving your reputation around and trying to run this investigation?" He tightened his grip to the point it was going to leave some rather nice bruises later on. "Think again."

"Easy, Morishige-san." Mizuguchi warned, and the officer grunted, but backed off.

Shinichi blinked, realizing that the guy thought that he had been playing them, being the person in charge of the case while secretly murdering people on the side. This whole fury thing was a matter of trampled police _pride_.

He pressed his lips together, biting back the idea of just telling them the truth, and knowing it would just make things worse if he tried. At best, they'd just lock him up in the mental ward rather than the criminal, at worse they'd just think he was kidding and come down on him harder.

Neither probably would have listened anyway. Morishige pushed Shinichi towards the second car, Mizuguchi keeping his gun handy if needed. He looked around the area, as if looking for something. "Where is your partner, Kudo-kun? Where did he take Inaba Norime?"

They thought Kaito was in on this, too? He could see how it looked, sure, but the idea was damn near hysterical. Kaito may get a little rough with people, but murder someone? Hardly.

Shinichi didn't look at the spot Kaito had been standing before the officers had approached. He already knew what he would see. "I don't know where he is."

The officers didn't like that answer, but neither made a move to try and get it out of him. "Radio dispatch and tell them the Kuroba kid is still missing. We find him, we might find Inaba."

Mizuguchi nodded, returning to his car and his partner. The officer still manhandling Shinichi opened the door, careful to keep the teenager from hitting his head out of training rather than any desire to protect him. Morishige got in just as his partner, the driver, got in. "Let's go, Tozawa. I don't want to look at him any longer than I have to."

Tozawa nodded, turning the car on and putting it into drive. Shinichi had more than enough time to look to the last place he had seen Kaito.

He wasn't surprised to see him gone.

Kaito ran.

'Ran' was an inaccurate description, but he had no other word for it. His chest didn't heave with the effort, but if he had had lungs, they would have.

His fists clenched and all he could think about was Shinichi _allowing_ himself to be taken by the officers. Why hadn't he run? Didn't Shinichi know that if they were dealing with untrust worthy officers they fled? He didn't think that was just a criminal's mentality, thought it was just common sense, but maybe it wasn't.

Stupid, stubborn detectives who couldn't stay out of trouble for even _one hour_!

A sick feeling rolled under his anger and frustration, mind not willing to touch it just yet. They didn't just think that Shinichi was the murderer, but they were convinced that they were both in on it, and that Kaito had made Inaba disappear. Someone must have seen the explosion. Although, thinking back on it, he wondered why no one hadn't noticed it sooner and showed up to investigate. It wasn't like he hadn't been there for hours.

For all of this town's population, why was it that they always seemed to just... _disappear_ at the worst possible times?

Kaito gritted his teeth, and would have growled out of sheer frustration if he had the vocal cords to do so. Since the moment they walked into that hotel two days ago, it was like everything was working against them, pulling them towards some ending that Kaito couldn't see, and Kaito did not like it in the least. The first thing he was going to do upon getting his body back, was go down to that station and make sure there was no evidence.

Even if he had to destroy it all himself. He was sorry those women were dead, he had promised himself that Ishimaru would pay, but he was not letting Shinichi go down for this. It was just a pity their murders would never be solved.

The silver cord tugged at him, guiding him and urging him down the last, final block and brought him to a large, stone wall that towered some two and a half meters off the ground, effectively hiding whatever it was that lay beyond. It was old, like everything else in this town, but it's state of neglect made it look older, and Kaito couldn't help but notice how out of place it looked nestled away so deep into an industrial section of the town.

Kaito crouched before he even realized he had; his first instinct still to go _over_ things, not _through_ them. He almost did it anyway, just for the familiarity of it, but going through wall, for all it's creepiness, was still kind of fun and a whole lot easier than seeing how well a ghost could cover the face of a wall.

The magician pressed his hands and face to the wall, the sensation like meeting the surface tension of water, but it held no resistance and allowed him pass. He poked his head through, eyes recognizing the area before passing through.

It was another old building, older than the wall; older than this whole _street_. Kaito thought it looked as old as that trap master, Samizu Kichiemon's house. It had the same touch of era to it, but while Samizu's house had been build to stand the test of time (and more than likely would, especially if anyone ever found it and sought to preserve it before it was beyond repair), this one had been made with cheaper materials and was falling apart. He was privately amazed it hadn't been bulldozed decades ago when the area was turned into a business zone.

Also, if the wall was any indication, he doubted anyone had been back there in a long time. He wondered, wildly, if that wasn't the point.

Stepping all the way through, Kaito made his way across the yard, the grass gone wild and creating a field of chest high greenery. They tickled at his being as he passed through them, the sensation unpleasant, but not something he couldn't tolerate, especially when he finally saw it.

Ishimaru stood in one of the few clear spots of the yard, the grass having not quite claimed it back from the stone steps leading up to the house. From Kaito's angle, he could just make out the look of longing on Ishimaru's - his - face.

Kaito blinked, baffled as to why the man had come _here_ to _this house_ when he had been so intent on finding and killing more people. What was so important about this house?

Ishimaru pressed a hand against one of the support beams of the front porch, seemed to revel in the fact it _could_ touch anything, and all Kaito could think was that he really hoped he wouldn't have splinters to worry about later. The body snatcher smiled, the thing looking just as messed up on the magician's face as it had looked on Shinichi's.

In the silence of the yard, Kaito clearly heard, "I've come home, mother. I hope you left all my toys were I left them."

Kaito's eyes narrowed, not having a clue what the guy was on about, but he had watched too many crime shows in his life not to know that anyone 'going home' (and if this really was Ishimaru's home, then he _really_ didn't want to be anywhere near the place) was never a good thing. He doubted anything Ishimaru had hid in this place was still good after over a century, but he wasn't about to take any chances.

This had gone on far too long anyway.

"That's my body," Kaito smiled, not even bothering to creep (and why should he when Ishimaru couldn't see him; couldn't hear him?). It gave the magician a sort of pleasure that probably for the first time, the ghost was about to get a haunting. "And it's time _I_ came home."

Kaito leapt. He half expected to go through his body, like he had everything else, but like the snapping of a too taunt rubber band, the silver cord _pulled_, yanking him back into his body the moment he touched it.

A second later, Kaito's body crumpled to the ground with a dull thud, and the yard was silent again.

Shinichi stared out the window at the passing landscape, not really seeing it. His mind was lost in the whirlwind of his thoughts, trying to find some way out of this mess.

He was going to need to call someone.

His first thought was to try to get in touch with his parents. It was probably the first instinct of most children that had gotten in far too over their heads, and Shinichi was mildly amused that he hadn't shed it even after so many years of being on his own.

His second thought was to get in touch with Eri Kisaki. It was by far the wiser one. If anyone could get him out of this mess, it would be one of Japan's most successful lawyers, but Shinichi would have been a fool if he didn't know that calling her would more than likely lead to her finding out his secret.

She was always good at reading lies, and his acting skills had always relied on plausible deniability rather than any real skill. She'd see through any story he came up with in an instant.

There was no one else he could call. Agasa Hiroshi may have been the one he confided in when he was Conan, but he couldn't help him in this. Haibara Ai wouldn't even try, even if she could help, and there was no way that Shinichi was explaining to either of them how exactly he had gotten into this mess.

So, calling Eri Kisaki it was, because as much as he didn't like lying to the people he knew, he rather leave his fate in the hands of someone he trusted than the complete strangers of Hananomachi's legal system.

Shinichi resisted the urge to sigh, wondering where Kaito was and if he had found Ishimaru. He didn't like this waiting game, nor being forced to be separated from Kaito at such a vital time. Not for the first time, but certainly to the extent he was feeling it at present, he felt the police was only getting in the way.

The part of his mind not worrying about Kaito and the police also wondered where those ghosts had gone, what Inaba was planning, who that voice had been, and most of all, if it was any of his business, and God help him if he didn't think he would ever allow himself to leave without finding out though.

Kaito - everyone - was right. He really was too nosey.

The car coming to a halt dragged Shinichi from his thoughts like a proverbial tug and the detective tilted his head as he peered out the window. The road followed the river and looked familiar as any of the town's did. The only thing that Shinichi really knew was that it was the one that headed out of town and towards the highway-

And it was _not_ the way to the police station.

Shinichi sat up, fully at attention. In the front seat, Tozawa and Morishige were fiddling with something he couldn't see, their body language tense and something about the looks on their faces put him on edge.

_They know they're about to do something wrong. Going to do it anyway._

Kaito's words floated up into his consciousness, and for the first time, Shinichi wondered if they had anything to do with his arrest at all. Morishige's anger was real, was still in the set of his shoulders, but the cold touch to their expressions made Shinichi wonder if there wasn't something more going on here.

Not to mention, not going to the station was a blindingly huge clue to that.

For a brief moment, Shinichi could almost see them dragging him from the car, dealing out their own brand of justice on the outsider who's presence in the town would be horribly easy to erase. When - _if_ - they found Kaito, the could just as easily do the same to him.

How many people disappeared while traveling, never to be seen again?

"I don't know about this. We can still turn back."  
Morishige; whatever he was talking about, he didn't sound like he was happy about it, and hell if it didn't sound like Shinichi's suspicions weren't right.

Tozawa grunted. Shinichi could hear the click of something that sounded a whole lot like a gun and the hairs on the back of Shinichi's neck stood on end. Were they seriously going to do it?

"It's the only way."

In unison, both partner's opened their doors, the show of how long they'd been working together in the little ways they moved together. They were in perfect understanding of each other and all Morishige had to do was nod towards the back of the car, and Tozawa knew what he was planning.

Shinichi watched as they both made sure their guns were concealed, and the way Tozawa was quick to take the side while Morishige, with his larger frame, took the front and center and demanded that all eyes follow him, not his partner.

These were obviously well trained cops. Shinichi pondered briefly what had made them turn corrupt, and if there was ever really a worthy reason to do so.

Morishige came to a stop outside his door, dark eyes shadowed in the twilight hours, and Shinichi could almost feel the intensity of it on every inch of him. The detective tensed, not sure what he could do to fight back against two - possibly four, if the other two were in on this - well trained cops, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

He was just sorry he never got to say goodbye to everyone, and most of all, that these people would more than likely get away with whatever they were up to. There would be no dying messages to reach the right people in this place.

Morishige seemed to steel himself, but instead of reaching for the door, he turned away from Shinichi to stare at something behind them both. The teen detective twisted instinctively to see what there was, and noted that the car Mizuguchi and his partner were in was just coming to a stop behind them.

Shinichi watched Mizuguchi step out of the car, the lights still on and near blinding, but Shinichi ignored it in favor of looking back to Morishige, studying the man's face.

Morishige only had eyes for car behind them, his lips pressed into a grim, thin line and there was something like resolution in the man's eyes.

Shinichi's mind took the pieces, the conversation, the tone and their words, trying to make them fit, urgency begging him to hurry, because this wasn't _right_.

Outside, Mizuguchi came up along side the car, Shinichi able to see Tozawa slipping out from around the car and heading over to talk with Tsunemasa. The action struck Shinichi as bizarre, not to mention unnecessary. All they had to do was talk to Mizuguchi, who would report back to his partner, but if Mizuguchi found this strange in any way, it didn't show.

"Oi, why are you on the radio silence?" Mizuguchi's voice was muffled by the door, but Shinichi could still hear the confusion clearly in his tone. The man glanced around, eyeing the road. "And what's with the detour? Is anything wrong?"

Shinichi studied the officer's face for any show that this was an act. He looked for any indication that this was just for anyone that happened to be passing by or if he was genuinely asking the question. Even in the growing darkness, Shinichi could see that for all intents in purposes, Mizuguchi honestly didn't have a clue what was going on.

He looked back to the other officer. Noted that that resolution had taken on a tint of grim determination. Like he was settling in for the 'no turning back.'

Shinichi looked over the pieces again, the picture almost clear, or at least where this was going, but not the motives and then, all at once, _he knew_.

There was no time to shout, not time to warn them. The first gun shot rang out clear and loud in the night, and Mizuguchi turned in surprise in the noise and Shinichi despaired the man ever taking his attention off Morishige.

It proved to be a fatal mistake.

Perhaps he saw Morishige pulling out the gun in the reflection of the glass. Maybe it was the sound of the bullet clicking into the chamber. Whatever the tip off was, Mizuguchi turned just in time to see the trigger pulled, the barrel pointed right between his eyes.

The body jerked with the force of the shot, falling back and slamming into the side of the car. Shinichi couldn't help the involuntary cringe as the body hit the ground, unable to stop staring at the spot where Mizuguchi had been just seconds before.

There was no surviving that kind of wound. He didn't need to be a detective to know the man was very much dead. As the lights of the car behind them turned off, he didn't need to look to know that Tsunemasa was dead too.

Shinichi glared out the window at Morishige, already recovering and trying to figure out what was going on.

_Why_? Why kill Mizuguchi and Tsunemasa? Killing Shinichi, himself, would have made sense, but there were dozens of opportunities in the future to spirit him off and kill him if that were the case. Killing the officers made no /sense/, unless... Unless. Unless. _Think, Shinichi_.

The detour.  
The radio silence.  
The officers.

What could be worth killing two officers for in front of a witness? Cockiness? Too risky, they had to know that. Unless they really had never planned to take him to the station. But if that were so why was he still alive?

Morishige put his gun away, opening the trunk and rummaging around in it, before returning with some body bags and bricks. Crude method of dumping the bodies in the river, it wouldn't hid them forever, but Shinichi thought that more than likely wasn't the point.

Tozawa joined him, taking over while Morishige dragged the bodies off. Shinichi noted that they weren't even really trying to clean up, like they thought no one would miss the officers before long, and even if they did, that their deaths wouldn't be traced back to them. It spoke again of either confidence or that they had another card up their sleeves to play.

Silently, the officers made short work of pathetic clean up, Tozawa tossing the stuff back in the trunk before both of them got back into the car.

Neither of them looked at each other, although Shinichi caught Tozawa looking back at him in the mirror. The detective was surprised when he recognized the look in the officer's eyes.

It was triumph. Like everything was going according to plan and that they hadn't just killed two of their fellow officers. It sent a chill down Shinichi's spine, and he knew in that moment that they had something more sinister in plan for him.

He couldn't help but feel like this was it, and that he was standing at the edge of getting all his answers. That the big picture was about to paint itself out in bright neon letters to spell out what was really going on in this town. The show had just been waiting for him to arrive was _finally_ time to begin.

He couldn't help but realize, for once, he didn't want to see it.

Kawaguchi Ishimaru remembered the first time he had seen a fun house.

It had been a terribly long time again, even going from the time he died back to that time, but he still remembered he had been ten years old at the time. He remembered his mother taking him out one night, her hand wrapped tight and cold around his own as she lead him through a traveling carnival. His father had been absent and he couldn't remember if had he ever been there or if he just left for some candy. It hadn't been important because his mother was there and they were having fun.

Hirae - he remembered, would always remember, her name was Hirae - was a very proud woman, who held strict values of what a family should and shouldn't be (except when she didn't and then she- no, he never thought of that, never) but every now and then she let it all go and was just his mother. He remembered being excited because this was one those days.

They saw everything in the carnival by the end of the night. He had even won his mother a koi fish. They had sadly had to give it back, because mother didn't know what to do with it, but he was still proud he had caught it, and he thought she was too. There was just one last thing to do.

Play in the fun house.

Back then, fun houses were different. Simpler, but in their own ways, had seemed to hold even more mystery and fear. Superstitions ran wild in the days before science had explained nearly everything away and while other countries were taking steps to modernizing, Japan still held to it's beliefs. The fun houses played on it, beckoning only the most brave.

Ishimaru remembered not being that brave. No amount of coaxing had talked him into taking one step into that structure. His mother had laughed about it, touched his cheek tenderly - too tenderly, but he hadn't known that then - and told him he didn't have to if he didn't want too.

They had left shortly afterward, but not before little ten year old Ishimaru had taken one last look back at the house, promising that he would go in there next year. He'd show his mother how brave he was.

The carnival didn't come the next year. Or the year after that. Ishimaru hadn't thought of it again, and by the time it came again, mother was dead and there was no one to impress.

Ishimaru was thinking about it again, that day, some hundred and fifty years after his mother died, because even though that was not the simple wooden fun house of his youth, that was most certainly a fun house standing in front of him.

Ishimaru scowled. How had he gotten here, where ever here _was_? One moment he had been in that kid's body, standing outside his family's home, and then next he had been here.

Ishimaru took a step towards the walls, fully intending to go through it, and then stopped. Before his eyes a simple wooden door appeared where there had been smooth wood before as if someone had sliced the door clean from the wood and made it in that instant. Slowly, without a single sound, the door opened to reveal a figure, standing lone and stark against the darkness behind it.

The figure, a man, stood dressed in white from his top hat right down to the oxford loafers, which made his blue dress shirt and red tie stand starkly out against the rest of the outfit. His face was hidden by an off-white theater mask, it's smile wide and it's eyes curved into half moons casting the entire image into something sinister. Familiarity sang through Ishimaru's memory, as if he had seen something like this man before, but it was from a time after his death and his short term memory was shotty at best.

The figure bowed deeply, hand swept out to offer entrance. Without actually waiting for Ishimaru, though, the figure stepped back and disappeared into the darkness.

Ishimaru growled. If he had been a mortal man he would never have entered the funhouse, but he had been the thing people feared longer than he had been alive and such thoughts were long since forgotten to him. Without a second thought to his own safety, he darted in. He didn't pay attention to the door.

Not even when it swung shut on it's own plunging him into darkness.

Elsewhere, and equally confused Kuroba Kaito stared around at his surroundings. He knew this place like the back of his hand, he just couldn't fathom how he had come to be _in_ it. Eyes wide, as he tried to take everything in at once, Kaito drank in the sight of his father's- his- no, _their_ secret room; the heart of Kaitou Kid's hidden base.

Kaito laughed softly, twisting around like a little boy in a toy shop. He hadn't been in this room in... Had it really been a year? Everything was right where he'd left it. The car he'd never drive, but polished and kept in perfect working order just for the simple reason it had been his father's. The vanity mirror that hid Kaitou Kid's costume from the rest of the world. Everything, even right down to that broken jukebox that hadn't worked a day he'd owned it.

Kaito took a deep breath, feeling some of the tension drain away and his mind clearing for what felt like the first time in months. He had always felt safe in this room, not because no one but him and Shinichi and, more than likely, his mother knew it was there, but because he'd always felt closest to his father in here. Every memory was clearer and he could always imagine his father's voice the loudest as he tried to picture what his father might say as he worked on his plans for his next magic trick; the next gem; the next heist.

This would his safe place, even after it was no longer been needed and he had left it all behind. 'Safe' had seemed to take on a different meaning over the last year. Safe was a warm body beside him at night. Safe was waking up every morning and having the whole day ahead of him. Safe was both him and Shinichi coming home at the end of the day, alive and well, and having yet another day ahead of them.

Kaito would never deny that a part of him would always retreat to this room - even if it was only in his mind - when the stress got too high or he and Shinichi were fighting because Shinichi had gotten in over his head again and wouldn't see reason. This room would always be the first place he thought of as safe, probably as long as he lived.

But it didn't explain why he was there, at that moment, when he should be in Hananomachi. Turning, Kaito sought out the painting that hid the entrance-exit, part of him looking forward to seeing it again. His gaze fell upon the painting-

And Kaito froze, startled. That wasn't the painting of his father as Kaitou Kid. It looked like it, but the man in the painting had never worn a theater mask (Toichi hadn't needed to), finger pressed to the pressed to the lips as if indicating a secret.

Kaito drew closer, partially confused, but mostly angry. Who had changed the painting? Who would _dare_? Even almost two years after making Kaitou Kid his alter ego, as much as his father's, he hadn't changed that painting. So, _why_?

Kaito, intent on his study, almost missed the movement. One minute the painted imposter's hand had been hidden behind his back, the next it was _moving_. Not even Poker Face could cover the shock, and Kaito jerked back, mouth dropping as the hand reached _out of the painting_; reached for him.

The magician back peddled, but whoever, whatever, the person in the painting was, he was fast. Kaito yelped as the hand he hadn't been focusing on - stupid, amateurish move - wrapped firmly around his wrist and tugged, pulling him back to the painting and _into_ it. Some voice in the back of Kaito's mind protested that being pulled through a friggin' _painting_ should feel like _something_, but he might as well have been pulled through open air. There wasn't even any resistance at the surface as he was pass all the way through.

Just as suddenly as the figure had grabbed him, it let go. Kaito caught a glimpse of the person moving away out of the corner of his eye, but he was more focused on checking himself out for anything that might be out of place. Pressing his hands to his head and running it down, he insured he still had a head, eyes, ears, mouth, neck, two arms, ten fingers, a torso, two legs, and ten toes. Everything was there.

Kaito breathed a sigh of relief, before turning on his attacker, Poker Face reasserting itself as the danger seemed to pass. "That was a nice magic trick you did there, Imposter-san. Any chance you might introduce yourself?"

Imposter-san raised a finger to his lips, the gesture for a secret, but didn't other wise make a sound. Kaito frowned inwardly, reading the man's body language to be playful. It was only because there was no signs that he was going to pull another one of those crazy tricks again that Kaito was even still standing there.

Which reminded him: where was 'there'? Kaito looked around, easily able to tell that he wasn't in his room, or even in his house. His home had never had that many mirrors, let alone enough to make it appear he was in a funhouse of mirrors. Kaito did another sweep of the room, and took the 'appear' back. This was a funhouse and this was the room of mirrors and those... He paused, and raised an eyebrow at his reflection. Those were not his clothes.

They looked sort of like Kaitou Kid's costume, and it was definitely a costume he was wearing. The white dress coat was shorter in the front, and the coat tails longer. The blue shirt didn't even look like it was made of silk anymore, tailored to be form fitting and also shorter all around. The pants where still the same, as was the red tie, but Kaito had never worn it that loose, even after a long night's work. The outfit almost looked like his plans for a costume if he ever went out and became a professional Stage Magician. It was mostly just an idea, he only had the basic grasp of what he wanted, he hadn't even thought of colors.

Looked like someone had decided for him.

Kaito turned to the Imposter, eyes narrowed. He hadn't told anyone about the costume design, hadn't even _mentioned_ that he was thinking about it. He hadn't wanted to until he had it all down and knew for sure that he liked it. Yet, there he was, wearing it as if the idea had been plucked from his very mind and conjured into reality.

"Are you Kawaguchi?" The question slipped through his lips before he could stop it, and the words seemed to burn with something like fear as they left him.

Imposter-san raised a hand to his face, and Kaito knew what he was doing even as he did it; the hand dragging down the theater mask to turn the laughing mask into it's weeping counterpart. Kaito could even clearly read offense in his body language.

Kaito almost laughed, swallowing it back with his relief. Not the killer-ghost, but what about: "Are you a ghost?" And wouldn't it just bite if he had more than one ghost to worry about?

The figure shook a finger at him, and although there was no sound to accompany the gesture, Kaito knew he was being tsk'ed. Bringing that same finger to his head, Imposter-san tapped his temple.

Behind him, Kaito heard movement and the brush of cloth on cloth. It was instinct to want to turn, to take his eyes off his opponent, but the magician resisted, using the mirrors around him to his advantage. With them he was perfectly capable of keeping an eye on the imposter and look behind him.

Where there was no one to be seen. At all. He couldn't say he was surprised.

Kaito made a considering noise, ignoring the presence at his back and the way it made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. There _was_ something behind him, he just couldn't see it yet. The mirrors showed nothing and either they were trick mirrors or there just wasn't something immediately behind him.

He could deal with this. It was not the first time that someone had attempted to sneak up on him. If he couldn't see the person coming in a room full of mirrors, then he deserved to be attacked. It was a waiting game, and he had played much more dangerous ones than this.

Focusing on the person he could see, Kaito noted that the theater mask was back to smiling, appreciated the other's skills for managing the change without him noticing. Whoever it was, he had to admit they were good.

And they had presented him with a riddle, to boot. The imposter felt he had all the clues he needed to solve the riddle, he just had to think it through. He almost wondered what Shinichi would do in this situation, and then decided to really consider it. What would Shinichi do in this situation? Ask questions that made no sense, for starters. Sift through the clues until he was holding all the cards in his hands.

What did he know? That Imposter-san was _not_ Ishimaru or a ghost.

What else did he know? Thinking back, Kaito tried to remember what he was doing before he wound up in Kaitou Kid's dressing room. He could clearly picture the officer manhandling Shinichi and his own burn of frustration at not being able to help. He could remember how hard it was to run away and leave Shinichi to the police officers. He had tracked down Ishimaru after that, sneaking up behind him as the body snatcher took his body for a test drive. After that he had-

He had jumped _into his body_. And awoken, in a way, in a 'safe place.' Kaito made a soft, appreciative noise at the obviousness of it.

"We're in my head."

There wasn't a hint of a question or a doubt. The answer felt right, and Imposter-san confirmed it when he started clapping, body language pleased.

And again, Kaito heard the movement behind him: clapping that wasn't an echo, but someone actually clapping in time with the imposter. Kaito jerked around, no longer worried about the fake Kaitou Kid, wanting to know who the hell was behind him, because if Imposter-san wasn't Ishimaru, then maybe this other person was.

It was probably a testimony to just how broken Kaito's Weird Shit-o-Meter was that even at the sight of a pair of very large, clapping gloves, _that wasn't attached to anyone_, he didn't even so much as blink.

The gloves, realizing they'd been noticed, paused mid-clap and both parties seemed to gauge the other for a reaction. When Kaito failed to freak out (not that anything besides f-f-f-_those things_ could cause that sort of reaction anymore), one of the gloves - the one on the right - tentatively pulled from it's counterpart and gave him a wave.

It seemed perfectly natural to wave back when being waved at, even by a large, disembodied hand, so Kaito waved back. He was almost sure that the thing looked pleased by the reaction.

"If we're inside my head," Kaito spread his arms to indicate not just the room, but what lay beyond it, "Then that means you all are a part of me. And represent something."

The glove on the right - Right Glove, Kaito dubbed it - didn't hesitate to give him a thumbs up. Kaito couldn't help but grin at it's enthusiasm. Left Glove, however, proceeded to give him a thumbs down, almost seeming to do it because it could. The magician watched with amusement as Right Glove caught on, smacking Left Glove. Left Glove, slowly, like it was disgruntled to agree, gave him a thumbs up.

Kaito shook his head. He was sure he was seeing psychology in motion, but he had never actually studied the subject and most of the whys and how of it worked where beyond him except what the basics of human interaction had taught him. If he absolutely had to take a guess, he'd say the gloves might represent his thinking process - or even his confidence. He couldn't know of sure, although he was tempted after all this to attack a book or two on the subject later.

There was one thing Kaito did know, without a shadow of a doubt. If these were presentations of the sides of his mind, from the funhouse to the gloves, then that meant 'Imposter-san' could only be one thing.

Kaito turned, taking in the figure he'd originally thought to be an imposter and saw him for what he really was. "You're my Id."

His Id - Kaitou Kid, he thought, and something twinged inside him to name his Id that, but it felt right - bowed deep and courteously, everything about him radiating approval at Kaito's deduction.

Kaitou swallowed, eyes racking over his Id; his inner desire; that dark, selfish part of himself that wanted and never thought of the bigger picture. The fact that his Id had taken the form of Kaitou Kid seemed ridiculously fitting. Kid was as much about being selfish as he had been about not being selfish. He was freedom and risk and magic, everything Kaito still yearned to be right down to the very fabric of his being.

Kaito was still working towards that desire and those dreams, he was simply translating them into another line of work. The magician glanced at himself in the mirror, processing the clothing in a different way. Perhaps the clothing represented who he was molding himself into: the cut made to look like a Stage Magician's costume to represent his future persona and Kid's coloring because Kid was still very much a part of him and his past.

If Kaito hadn't thought his head wouldn't be an interesting study before, even he agreed it certainly would be now.

But Kaito shook his head and pushed all those thoughts down, remembering that if he was indeed back in his body, and trapped on some mental landscape instead of in control of his body, that could only mean one thing: Ishimaru was still in there with him somewhere, possibly running around in this funhouse of his mind and looking for a way out and back into his body.

He could not allow that to happen at any cost. He had to find a way to repel the ghost from his body, or at the very least trap it somewhere until he could find a way to get him out.

"Do you know where Kawaguchi is?"

If Kid thought the change in subject odd, he didn't show it. He nodded, pointing deeper off into the mess of mirrors, perhaps towards the exit of the room.

Kaito grinned, dark and mischievous. If this was _his_ body, and _his_ mind, then everything in the funhouse was constructed to make it easier for him to function in and work against Ishimaru. "What do you say, Kaitou Kid, that you and I give our guest a surprise? A little show, just for him?"

If Kaito could have seen Kid's face, he was sure he'd see a matching grin. In truth, he wasn't that far off.

Off in the direction Kid had pointed in; deep within the twisting maze of the Funhouse, Ishimaru stumbled as he attempted to navigate a bridge. The ropes were sturdy and strong, almost new, but the wooden planks were old and rotting and every one that broke seemed determined to plunge him into the empty, black chasm below.

If he didn't know any better, he'd say the point was to walk on the ropes and not the wood, but that was crazy and who really did those kinds of things?

It was pure stubbornness that got him across the bridge without falling. There was no way he'd let some silly building be the end of him, and it was with an almost taunt to the house that it had failed to claim him that he jerked open the door and sauntered off the bridge into the next room.

It was, perhaps, how unexpectedly normal the room was that caused Ishimaru to stare, incredulous, around him. After the doors that went everywhere and no where, the rotating tunnel that picked up speed the deeper he got into it, and the bizarre bridge, a library was exceedingly dull. Still, Ishimaru was still too on guard to think there was nothing about this room that didn't belong somehow.

Cautiously, he approached one of the shelves, half expecting it to fall on him. When it not only failed to do so, but almost seemed to laugh at him for thinking it so unoriginal, Ishimaru reached up and snatched one of the books off using more force than necessary.

He paid little attention to the book or two that fell, landing at his feet in an ungraceful heap, curious about the one in his hand. It's title was faded and old, but still legible. It appeared to be well looked through; a favorite perhaps, but when Ishimaru flipped through the pages he noted that some of the pages were missing whole sections and on other's, the text broke off to merge with pictures, some clear, others not.

Ishimaru frowned, wondering what was the purpose of creating a book that no one could read. He glanced at the other books, with their fading or blank covers and figured that perhaps that was the point of this library being in the funhouse. Just another odd joke.

Placing the book back down, Ishimaru made his way across the room, only pausing to look at the two armchairs set comfortable in the center of the room when his eye caught the sight of the object sitting on the coffee table. If he wasn't mistaken, it was the average, every day top hat. Really, there was nothing interesting about it aside from the fact he had never seen one in white before, but what was odd was that he could have sworn it was black when he'd walked into the room.

Ishimaru rubbed his eyes, certainly the funhouse was getting to him. Really, hats that changed colors when someone wasn't looking, how silly. Ishimaru opened his eyes fully expecting the hat to still be white.

It was black.

Ishimaru snatched the thing up, only glancing at the two books laying beneath it (The Complete Collection of Sherlock Holmes, Volume One and another book he could only see the '-sene Lupin' part of the title) in favor of examining the top hat. The ghost growled as he inspected it, not finding anything that suggested it was anything other than a normal top hat. That just happened to change colors on occasion.

Disgusted with it, Ishimaru tossed it aside, not noticing how it seemed to change direction half way to land back on the table instead of the floor. He didn't have time to get side tracked by the displays. He had a body-home owner to find and deal with so he could get back to the real world and back to carrying out his killings. Inaba was just begging for a date with his toys. Not to mention Arina had left him such lovely descendants to play with and, after all, he'd be rude not to take advantage of it.

The creaking of the door to his left caught his attention. He expected it to be another empty doorway, showing him the way to the next room, but unlike the last two times, the white clad figure from the entrance of the fun house stood waiting in the doorway. The figure bowed like before, beckoning him entrance with a polite gesture for 'you first'.

Ishimaru could almost feel it in the air; could see it in the figure's posture: this was it. The end of the games and this little venture. Ishimaru never once thought to back out, taking the invitation with pleasure. He kept an eye on the man, watching as he stood out of the way to allow Ishimaru entrance and only closed the door once he was well clear of it. The perfect gentleman even to criminals.

Ishimaru snorted. "We don't have to do this," he offered. He could be generous if he wanted. He had no qualms with the boy, as long as he stayed out of the way. "We can even work together."

The figure didn't answer. Ishimaru turned back to the door and a part of him wasn't surprised to find him gone. "Che," he hissed, growing tired of this game. He was trying to be nice. Did Kuroba want him to get angry? "Come out, boy. I know you're here. Or are you too much of a coward to face me?"

"No need for shouting, I can hear just fine, thank you."

Ishimaru spun around, following the voice to the front of the room, a theater room of sorts, where he found the person he was looking for. Kuroba stood center stage, completely at ease and flipping through a card deck as if there wasn't a violent spirit just across the room. Ishimaru noted he appeared to have changed out of one ridiculous outfit into another, the cut of this one more 'modern', he supposed.

Kuroba finished shuffling his cards, fanning them out and looking across the room like he was looking for a volunteer. Ishimaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He didn't understand this boy in the least.

"For my next trick, I need a volunteer," Kuroba said, keeping one hand on the cards as he brought the other to shield his eyes and search out someone in the room. Kuroba's gaze fell on Ishimaru, and Ishimaru raised an eyebrow when the boy smiled. "You sir, by the door. Won't you come to the stage?"

Ishimaru didn't know what game Kuroba was playing, but if it got him closer to him, he was game. Ishimaru descended the center row, coming around the front of the stage to the side stairs. He kept his eyes on the boy the whole time, but never once did Kuroba move, even when Ishimaru was within arms distance.

Kuroba lowered his arm, gesturing to Ishimaru and presenting him to the 'audience'. "This trick only appears simple, I promise." Kuroba turned to Ishimaru, holding out the cards for the ghost. "Pick a card, any card."

Ishimaru narrowed his eyes. How far was Kuroba going to take this charade? He debated going along with it, letting the boy do his silly magic trick, but he was through with allowing Kuroba to call the shots. He was on a schedule after all. Time a ticking, life was short, and all that.

It was possible Ishimaru was just feeling impatient. He was sure it was understandable.

Ishimaru reached out, pretending to reach for the cards. Just before his hand came in contact with one of the cards, Ishimaru darted his hand out to wrap around Kuroba's tie, wrapping the cloth around his hand so the boy couldn't escape.

"Enough of these silly games." Ishimaru jerked the tie, and the body it was attached to closer, a part of his mind telling him that Kuroba let him because there wasn't even a hint of fear or any other emotion in the boy's eyes. "You can't win against me, so why don't you do us both a favor and _give up_?"

Kuroba was silent for a long moment, simply staring at him. Ishimaru might have thought the boy was just a figment of the imagination of his host, but he could see the awareness in the body's eyes. This was really Kuroba, who was shaking his head.

"That's the problem with criminals."

Ishimaru growled. "And what is that?"

Kuroba smirked. "They're all too over confident."

Ishimaru never saw where it came from. One minute he was ready to tear the boy a new one, the next there was a _poof_ and he was coughing and choking on smoke, his hand empty and he knew even before the smoke cleared that Kuroba would no longer be on stage.

Sure enough, when the smoke cleared, Ishimaru found himself alone. He tried to scan the audience for Kuroba, but it seemed like the lights were suddenly brighter, blinding him and not even shielding them seemed to help. "Is this the best you've got? A bunch of lights?"

"You know, ever single room in here seems to be made to my advantage." The lights dimmed as abruptly as they flared up and Ishimaru found himself able to see the crowd. It would have been impossible to miss Kuroba, with his white suit against a black background of seats. Ishimaru almost lunged at him, but something about the words held a hint of warning, telling Ishimaru to take heed.

"I couldn't figure out why this room existed though." Kuroba gestured to the room by spreading his hands to either side of him. "Quite frankly, I'd hoped to never see this room again, bad memories and all."

Ishimaru frowned, a sense of foreboding falling over him that he stupidly ignored. "Oh? Did the scary magician scare you when you were a kid?"

If the comment bothered Kuroba, it didn't show. "But then it occurred to me. I do have one advantage here."

"Oh?"

Kuroba's expression could have been chiseled from stone, it was so cold and blank. "I know what happens next."

Somewhere below Ishimaru's feet, he heard a soft _click_. Ishimaru glanced down, something like fear curling in his belly for the first time in over a hundred years and he wondered why that little sound sounded so... final.

Ishimaru never saw it coming. Never even conceived that the ground below his feet would suddenly _heave_ violently as an explosion rocked the entire room, all of it centered on the stage. Ishimaru stumbled, briefly, before a second explosion knocked him clean off the stage and sent him tumbling off the stage.

Ishimaru could feel nothing but heat, that seemed to burn and burn until the fire threatened to consume him. Instinctively, he rolled as he hit the ground, trying to put out the flames and he didn't care if they burned his hands as he patted at them, as long as they went out. He managed to open his eyes against the burn of the smoke, trying to take in the damage-

Only to find not a single burn on him. There wasn't even a fire. Ishimaru rolled over, staring at the stage with a growing sense of horror.

The stage was as whole as it had been when he entered. There was no smoke, no debris, not even a hint that the room had just been ground zero a moment again.

_What the hell was going on here_?

Ishimaru reacted instantly as a white clad pair of legs appeared out of the corner of his eye, reaching out and taking hold of them like he was trying to ground himself. "What _is_ this place?"

The ghost looked up, not noticing that there turned out to be some evidence of the explosion left with the soot on his hands, nor did he notice the way that not a single smudge of it came off on the pants his hand was gripping. His gaze rose and rose until he found himself looking up into the theater mask of the figure from before. Kuroba had changed again? But why-

He saw the movement, turned and stared. He realized the first mistake he made while running around this little playground.

There was two of them. There had been two all along.

Kuroba stared down at him, a darkness in his eyes, and Ishimaru thought he saw something like sadness in them. Somehow, and he didn't know how, but he did, he knew that sadness was not for him or what was about to happen. It was for whatever had happened in this room.

"This was my childhood's end."

Ishimaru's eyes widened as the world suddenly turned upside down, again, only this time it was from the ground beneath his feet simply _vanishing_. He tried to hold onto the cloth beneath his hand, hoping to use it to hold him up, or at least pull the figure down with him, but the cloth slipped through his fingers like water and Ishimaru screamed as he plunged into darkness below. The trap door closed with a _snap_ taking the last bit of light with it, and Ishimaru was gone.

Unmoving, Kaito listened to the man's screams until they too disappeared. He could still feel Ishimaru, knew that he was just below the surface and this was just temporary, but for now, Ishimaru was taken care of. He would figure out how to get rid of the ghost later, after he'd rescued Shinichi.

But first, he needed to find his way back to the waking world, and he was pretty sure he knew who could show him the way. Kaito sought out Kid, who had never taken his eyes off of Kaito even when Ishimaru had taken hold of his pants.

Kaito grinned. "So, I guess this is goodbye."

Kaitou Kid shook his head, and Kaito knew that this wasn't any more a goodbye than it had been before. Fondness and amusement radiated in his body language. "You'll see me again, Kaito. Someday."

Kaito did a double take, gaping. "O-Oi! You can talk? Why didn't you-"

Kaito thought Kid might be smiling, but he didn't say a word as he reached out, pressed two fingers to Kaito's forehead, and _pushed_.

Despite the fact that there had been little force behind the push, Kaito found himself toppling backwards, falling past the floor; the funhouse; everything, until it all fell away and Kaito didn't even notice the ground until it came up to meet him and-

Kaito's eyes snapped open, lungs gasping for breath like he had just broke the surface of an ocean and all at once he could _feel_.

He could feel the warmth of Japan's night air on his skin. He could feel the racing of his heart in his chest. He could even feel the rock that had been gouging into his side for god only knew how long he'd been lying there on the porch of Ishimaru's old home and the only thing Kaito could think was that it all felt so _good_.

Kaito sat up, reveling in the feel of his body and how good it felt to have it back, aware that he was grinning like a loon and he didn't care.

Glancing up, Kaito tried to gauge how much time had passed since he'd entered his little battle of wills with Ishimaru. He didn't know what time he'd gone under, could only estimate. The sun hadn't quite disappeared under the mountains; no more than a hour, maybe less. More than enough time for Shinichi to get himself into one hell of a mess.

Kaito scrambled to his feet. He was running for the wall even as his hands dug through his pockets. He prayed he still had his tracer on him, he knew that no one had taken the tracking device off of Shinichi's shirt, and he knew the detective was still wearing that shirt. Kaito grinned as he hit pay dirt, turning it on even as he began to scale the wall.

Shinichi was somewhere southwest of his current location, and if he was in the industrial division that meant the police stations was... Not where Shinichi was. Kaito glared at the little device, pausing in his half way position over the wall. The police took Shinichi, so why was Shinichi _not_ at the station?

This didn't feel right. Kaito knew that something was wrong; had known it from the moment that police had shown up. Damn Inaba for knocking him out of his body, and damn Ishimaru for taking his body. He'd damn his detective, too, for not being able to stay out of trouble, but he had the feeling Shinichi was in enough trouble as it was without the added malice.

Kaito swung his other leg over and dropped down to the ground. He could only hope, as he raced off in the direction of where ever Shinichi was, that the detective wasn't in over his head, and if he was, that he could stay alive until he got there.

They had gotten this far alive, Shinichi better not go and get himself killed now!

In the distance, the sun fell behind the mountains that separated the town from the rest of the world and night fell over the Hananomachi. The last shadows of twilight darkened, giving way the deep black shadows of night and every thing was _silent_.

The town was waiting. Waiting for something that had been building for very many years, and it was almost like a feeling in the air. Something was going to happen that night.

The only question was, would Hananomachi still be there in the morning to see the dawn?

-  
_to be continued_  
-

NEXT: The Grand Finale; questions are answered and someone will die.

Author's Notes: So this chapter is steeped in symbolism and I'm only aware of what some of it is. XD Kaito's mental landscape demanded to be a Funhouse and I was all too happy to oblige. Sama suggested the clapping hands. She also suggested a broom or two that would attack Ishimaru, but sadly, that didn't happen. D: The library is to represent every book Kaito has ever read, hence the state of the titles words. The more the title is there, the more likely Kaito is to remember it. The words are actual words that Kaito remembers from the books. As for the pictures, well, I don't know about ya'll, but I tend to remember _pictures_ and the like more so than the actual words. XD

Kaito's Id being Kaitou Kid & the color of Kaito's outfit: I wanted to make it clear that Kaito, despite everything he says, is really not over being Kid. XD He never will. Kid will always be as much of who he is as being Kuroba Kaito is. In fact, if ever given enough reason, he'd put the outfit back on and redawn the identity. And who knows? Maybe that situation might pop up one day. You never know. _winks_


	10. And Drawing the Darkness Together

Author's Note: I don't really think this was one of my best, mostly because I think I've lost the voice of the characters, and some of this was written when I wasn't really feeling it (but then, if I hadn't trekked through, I never would have finished at all, so...), still, the story finally reached the conclusion I wanted for it, so I am happy with that. (Honestly, I'm just thrilled I finished it. This is the second chaptered story I have ever finished, and most definitely the longest to date. XD)

-  
Chapter Ten  
_And Drawing the Darkness Together_  
-

Shinichi knew the empty spaces in his head weren't from shock (because if he'd ever gone into shock in his life, even for a _moment_, he would have never been able to crawl back out), but from the patience (or, maybe, impatience?) of knowing he didn't have all the clues and he simply had to wait for the rest to reveal themselves to him.

They hadn't driven very far from where the renegade officers had dumped the bodies of two dead cops. Had only driven as long as it had taken for the last of the purples and blues to fade into black in the sky - no more than an hour, more likely than not - before the car was slowing down again, this time outside a building Shinichi didn't recognize.

To a casual observer, the building would have appeared just as old as the rest of the buildings in the town, but to Shinichi's eyes, little discrepancies gave the building away as being only as old as the viewer wanted it to be. The windows had been treated to look dirty and dimmed, while the wall had too few pieces of paint ripped off to actually be peeling. Someone had wanted the building to be innocuous and Shinichi supposed to most people it was.

Whatever had been going on in that building, the rest of the village would not have approved, if they knew. Shinichi, if he survived, had to admit he was going to a certain amount of pleasure out of revealing it to them and having these two cops and whoever they were with locked up for a good, long time.

Morishige's door opened first. The officer's back was to Shinichi, and as such, he couldn't see the man's expression, but Morishige's shoulders were tensed. More tense than they had been when he shot his fellow officer. From the turn of his head, Shinichi gathered he was looking at the building. There was a certain... reluctance to his actions again. It only served to put the teenage detective on high alert.

Whatever the man's expression might have been, it was gone when he turned to Shinichi's door. The tension smoothing away as he watched, and that horrible look of determination filling the empty spaces behind Morishige's eyes.

"Do you need help with him?" Tozawa. Shinichi heard, more than saw, him opening his door. There was a sound of gravel at his feet when he got out.

Shinichi was fully prepared to put up a fight - but only when the time was right. He was certain that showed perfectly on his face by the way that Morishige's eyes narrowed.

"Nah, I've got him. Stay close, either way." Morishige's lips tightened, before the corners crooked up into a smirk that was mostly for show, but was still a promise. "Shoot if he runs, but make sure not to kill."

Shinichi knew just enough about torture - if that's, in fact, what they wanted to do but if so, what was the _point_ - to know that the more they wanted you alive, the deeper trouble you were in.

He didn't put up a fight as Morishige dragged him from the back of the car. Morishige either didn't care, or notice (which he doubted), that Shinichi was studying the area as the officer marched him towards the building. He couldn't be sure, but if he were to guess, Shinichi would have said they weren't actually all that far from the police station. Far enough away to be from prying eyes, but still close enough that if they ever needed to be back in a hurry, Morishige and Tozawa would never be that far away from the job.

Risky, but he could see it's perks.

The building itself wasn't a warehouse like the other surrounding buildings, but it was definitely of the sort. It looked no more used than any of the others, beyond the fact that the lights were on in this one. Shinichi couldn't see any shadows in the windows, but it left him with the possibility that more people were involved. If there were, then this could be much worse than he feared.

It turned out that it was.

...And it wasn't. Shinichi wasn't sure what he was expecting when Morishige and Tozawa dragged him through the door, but it wasn't this.

People - not a lot, there wasn't more than a dozen of them - stood around whispering and murmuring, until they all fell into silence as they turned to face the door. Shinichi searched their faces, not recognizing any of them; saw their fear, their hesitation, but no surprise. They were expecting someone for this, and if they recognized him for being anything other than just a teenager caught up in their plans, it wasn't going to stop them.

It was because of this that he didn't bother to point out that they could - he was hoping they _would_ - get caught. Barely thought about the tracer he knew was still on him.

It was only relevant if Kaito managed to win back his body, a little voice whispered from the darker parts of him mind.

Tozawa stepped past them, addressing no one in particular as he stated, "They're not here." He didn't sound particularly happy with this observation.

Shinichi glanced at him, curiously. More people were coming? The two officers were enough for making a point, while the others present were more than enough for sport, or torture, or whatever they wanted. Any more and this would begin to feel like a gathering.

Well. More so.

A woman stepped forward. She was young - they all were, he noticed - and she looked liked she had lived a life as precisely as hard as she had. Her dark eyes briefly passed over Shinichi without really seeing _him_, and she turned her attention on Tozawa. "She called ahead of time. They'll be arriving soon." Her hands twitched, and her lips pursed with an emotion the teenage detective couldn't place. "She warned this might be too soon."

Someone scowled behind her. A third voice rose sharply in response to hush them, but a second woman, older than the one who had responded to Tozawa, stepped forward anyway. "Just how much longer does she really need? We already have everything we need-" At this, she pointed in Shinichi's and the officers' general direction, "-What more does she need?"

The first woman turned on her, but not before Shinichi caught a glimpse of her baring her teeth in anger. "Whatever she needs, Imagawa. _She_ is the one in charge here, not us. Or do you want to do this and it mean _nothing_?"

Whatever expression had been on her face when she had turned on Imagawa had been enough to make her take a step back. The words were apparently enough to silence her, if only so much. Imagawa glared at the woman, but stepped back into the group.

The turning of her head from one side to the other suggested the woman might be looking them over. It was more the slight ease of the tension of her shoulders than the tone in her voice that gave away the possible softening of her anger. "It's almost time. Soon, it won't matter what the rest of the village thinks - we'll be _free_." She gestured to the room. "There's much to be done. We should do it."

The group only looked like they might protest, looking between themselves and the woman. In the end, they backed down without a word, moving back and splitting up to the different parts of the room.

The woman herself turned, and when her eyes met his, Shinichi thought it might have been accidentally. She seemed to sort of start, the whites of her eyes clearly visible for a moment, and then she looked to Morishige and Tozawa. Shinichi sacrificed whatever may have passed over her face to get a glimpse of Tozawa's response was: a nod, recognition, like he knew she knew something and when she shook her head, it didn't _matter_ that she did-

She recognized Shinichi. Judging from her initial reaction, she had been surprised that _he_ was there for... whatever this _was_.

He looked back at her in time to see the horror in her eyes, as she turned away from them, a little too quickly, to attend to her own duties.

Shinichi narrowed his eyes, and he could feel the frown on his face, but it was nothing to the frustration he felt.

Morishige's hands were like a second pair of cuffs, holding him in place, but once again not restricting him from examining his surroundings. Whatever they had planned for him, they were waiting for at least two other people to arrive, and he hoped that maybe something in their tasks would give a clue as to what they were planning.

The building had been hollowed out, sometime in the last decade, and while it hadn't been ever refitted for every day use, it didn't have the look of some place that had been truly abandoned. If Shinichi had to hazard a guess, he'd say that at least some of these people had been using this place for, possibly, meetings of some sort for months, maybe years. The beams were still solid and strong, even if they showed a little age. It was a sturdy building which would continue to be so, in a place where no one would think to look for them. A perfect hiding place.

Shinichi looked to the nearest group of people - they were the only ones moving around. They were bringing in what appeared to be fire wood from outside. He blinked and pondered the action. There weren't any places to contain a fire in the building. No need for the heat, so why the wood? Unless they had other uses for it?

He filed the information away for later, and looked to the group farthest away. Several of the people were crouched, their backs to him, and whispering in voices too low to hear the tone, let alone the words. The woman who had recognized him was amongst this group, and Shinichi could see her hands moving as she talked. As he watched, one of the group said something, and her response, whatever it was, apparently required her to move around enough that Shinichi was able to see what they were crouched around.

It... It was-

Shinichi squinted, committed the image to memory, even as the woman moved back. An alter. That was most definitely an _alter_. Not the kind for such things like human sacrifices, but a small, genuine stone alter that reminded Shinichi of the ones he'd seen Wiccans and Witches use in their rituals. He had even caught a glance of fresh candles and colored stones adorning it's top.

Shinichi took a deep breath, remembered to _breathe_, as he realized... He looked at the group again, and remembered his earlier assessment.

This had seemed like a gathering, because it absolutely _was_ a gathering. A _cult_ gathering.

And did that mean, perhaps, their tardy leader was the 'missing' Inaba?

A soft, trilling cut through the dim chatter between the groups, and all of them instantly stopped to look for the source of the noise. The woman who'd reprimanded Imagawa, pulled a cell phone from her pocket and flipped it open.

"Hello?" She paused to listen to the person on the other line. She nodded, once. Shinichi couldn't see her face to gauge her emotional reaction, but he could see the shift in her body language immediately.

Tension releasing as a different, 'better' tension was building. Contained excitement. She was hearing good news.

Something was about to happen.

"Yes, right away." She flipped the phone shut, pausing as she gathered herself. "They're on their way now. The finishing touches must be done. Now." The other members of the group nodded and hurried back to their tasks.

The woman, however, didn't. Instead, she looked clear over Shinichi's head, addressing Morishige. "Directions were given that he be prepared as well. Any of them will do. After tonight, this building isn't important."

Shinichi could feel the pull in the officer's arms as he nodded. Shinichi frowned as Morishige tugged him further into the room. Prepared him? Prepared him for what? And what did she mean, the building didn't matter? Did they mean that it didn't matter that it would be compromised? It sounded too final a statement to be that simple. It almost sounded like they planned to destroy the building before the night was over.

Shinichi gritted his teeth against Morishige dragging him roughly towards one of the support beams (if he survived the night, his arms were going to be bruised in some interesting ways). It didn't take a genius to figure out that the officer intended to secure him to the beam, even before he started reaching for the keys.

Shinichi weighted the pros and cons of attempting to make a run for it, keeping his face as blank as possible, as Morishige unlocked one of the cuffs, the position becoming prime for an escape attempt.

Cold, hard pressure against the his temple. Tozawa, he could him see out of the corner of his eye, and what could only be the officer's gun. A warning. He had read him easily.

Inwardly, Shinichi contended the man a point.

Morishige tightened the cuffs back around Shinichi's wrists, securing him to the beam. The cuffs were just a tad bit too tight, and Shinichi knew that they were going to leave more marks when they came off.

Both officers backed away, although Tozawa failed holster his gun. He kept it ready, eyes watching Shinichi like a hawk, just waiting for the teen to try anything funny. Although Shinichi was getting the feeling that the man didn't actually intend to kill him, it left little comfort. There were so many ways one could shoot a man, and make it _hurt_, without even requiring a trip to a hospital for stitches.

Shinichi turned back to the followers, contending himself to be patient. He would have his answers, he knew, and then he'd make his escape.

He didn't have long to wait. As Shinichi was working ways to get to his lock picks, the main door opened and, sure enough, in walked the allegedly missing Inaba Norime. She, he had been expecting, but it was the person who entered behind her that shocked him, even if it really shouldn't have.

Amago Kore, Inaba's fiancé.

Shinichi stared, eyes narrowing. Kore was in on this, too? Although, if he thought about it, he supposed he shouldn't have been shocked. The man would have had to have been blind not to have known what she was into before he proposed to her. It wasn't like she kept it a secret or anything. _Everyone_ in the town knew about it. Even he and Kaito, the two outsiders, knew.

He just wasn't sure whether or not he should admire Kore for standing by her, regardless, especially under the circumstances. If they hadn't kidnapped him for some nefarious purpose, he would have thought this sounded oddly like his own story with Kaito.

The woman who'd answered the phone, stood immediately, and greeted them as they entered. There appeared to be genuine affection on her face, and, Shinichi thought, a little awe and no little amount of devotion. This woman wasn't just a follower, she believed with all her heart in what they was doing.

"Welcome back, Norime-san. We have everything set, and have been waiting for you." She bowed, as she spoke, eyes lowering in respect.

Inaba smiled, eyes soft with mutual affection. "Thank you, Sonoda-san." She looked over all of them, eyes sweeping over Shinichi without stopping to really see him. "Thank you, all of you. Without all of our hard work, we could have never managed this."

She stepped further into the room, her gaze finally coming to a halt on Shinichi. Shinichi was honestly surprised to see not a hint of insanity in her eyes. Only firm determination. He thought he could see a little sorrow. "Just a little longer, everyone, and this will all be over."

Cryptic. And the same words 'Sonoda' had said. Shinichi mind tossed and turned the line around, unable not to wonder what they needed to be freed from, and if kidnapping and murder was worth it.

Inaba followed Sonoda over to the alter, and what Shinichi could hear of their murmuring, they sounded like they were going over the final instructions of a spell. The detective unconsciously licked his lips as a foreboding fell over him, every instinct warning him to flee, his need for answers be damned.

It was all too familiar a feeling, and far too easy to push aside.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see movement, and for the briefest of moments he thought he saw...

Shinichi froze, the hairs on the back of his neck raising. There was... That wasn't a ghost. It wasn't anything like it. For a moment, he thought he had seen something straight out of a fantasy novel: something inhuman, with fur and honest to god _horns_. But when Shinichi jerked around to face it, eyes widened, heart pounding from a fear he couldn't name, all he saw was... Kore.

He looked around the room, almost desperate to reassure himself. That he had seen something; that he hadn't, he didn't know, but that couldn't have been a figment of his imagination... could it?

He turned back to Kore, blinking and knowing he was staring, but he didn't really _care_. He had seen something, he knew it, but where...?

He narrowed his eyes, and concentrated on the spaces around the man, not seeing anything for a beat, two, three-

_There_. For just a second, a single heart beat, it was like reality had borrowed the special effects right out of a movie. The air seemed to _shift_ and _warp_ until he could see the creature, demonic in nature, with it's black fur and large, thick horns, somehow too big and just the right size to fit into a single human being.

It was real. It was as real as he and everything in the room was.

Then the image was gone and all that was left was just plain, old Kore.

Shinichi shivered, whether from the cool breeze on his skin, or some base level of fear, he didn't know. That was too much. Ghosts were already too much, but that... That wasn't anything he had seen before. Some instinct told him he didn't want to ever see something like that again, for as long as he lived.

"You're..." Shinichi swallowed, not meaning to have said the word aloud, and shifted as Kore's gaze met his. There was nothing unusual in the other man's face, just as there hadn't been in the hotel lobby that morning. The man blinked at him, as if he were surprised that Shinichi had spoken to him, before he seemed to pause. Shinichi could see understanding forming in the man's eyes, and he wondered what was in his own.

Kore approached them, with all the ease of a man who knew that there was something dangerous in the room, but it posed him no threat whatsoever. As he stopped in front of Shinichi, a pleasant had taken the place of confusion in his expression.

"You can see the ghosts like my little Norime-chan can, can't you."

Shinichi frowned, not getting why the man would be interested, let alone talking to him. As he mulled the question over, he realized that it hadn't been posed as a question at all. Kore already knew he could. Had Inaba told him?

Kore stepped closer, looking him up and down, as if sizing him up. It didn't take much to deduct that the man was amused that Shinichi was in such a position - an exact opposite of their little game of question and answering from earlier. Shinichi didn't want to let the man see him as anything other than calm and collected, despite the cuffs, and struggled to regain his composure.

Morishige raised a hand between Shinichi and Kore, as the latter came within arms length of the former. "Careful. He could still to be a problem."

Kore sent the man a side long look. "He poses me no threat. Unless you don't think you can protect me?"

The officer snorted, nearly sneering at the man's arrogance. He still lowered his arm, allowing Kore to take the last few steps until he was bordering on invading Shinichi's personal space.

"What did you see, that scared you a moment ago, Medium-sama?"

Shinichi considered him, noting that Kore had referred to him as a person that could channel spirits. To his understanding, Mediums weren't just people that could see spirits, but call upon them and allow them access to the living world through their own bodies. Did Kore know about Ishimaru and the possessions? Or was he just making a general assumption based on Inaba's own personal experiences?

He searched the man's expression and realized that, yes, somehow, someway, the man did know. Or thought he knew. Either way, Shinichi didn't particularly feel like playing any games with him.

Kore was undeterred by Shinichi's silence. There was a dare in his expression, and Shinichi wondered what the man wanted from him.

"Can you see me, with those eyes of yours?"

Shinichi shook his head, glaring at him. "I don't know what you could be referring to, Amago-san. All I see is you."

Kore tsk'ed, but didn't seem disappointed by his response. If anything, he just seemed a little... bemused. Just another part of the game. "Come, now. Surely the great Kudo Shinichi isn't afraid a little question truefully." He leaned forward until they were almost nose to nose, his breath warm against Shinichi face. "I know you saw it."

Shinichi leaned back, narrowing his eyes, but unconsciously looking again. Looking for that thing he had seen, even when he knew he shouldn't have. Shinichi intended to keep his mouth shut, to tell him again that he didn't have a clue, but...

There it was. Like the after image of staring at the object too long. Again, he could see it, just for a moment.

Shinichi swallowed, and nearly verbally told his heart to stop pounding so hard. "Amago-san..." He shook his head, clearing his mind of the images. He focused on Kore, eyes hard. "You're not Amago-san, are you?"

Kore smiled. A slow, disturbing thing, that curled his lips at the edges. He looked to the two officers and waved them off with a gesture. They appeared as if they wanted to protest, but whatever they saw in Inaba's fiancé's expression was enough to have them biting their tongues and moving out of immediate earshot. Shinichi had no doubt that if Kore called them back, they'd hear him and come running back in an instant.

Kore turned back to Shinichi, and it was easy to see the man- the thing, no, the man - was pleased with him. "When did you figure it out, Medium-sama? That I'm not the real Amago Kore?"

Shinichi shook his head, not getting what was going on at all. "Just a few minutes ago." He didn't feel like beating around the bushes anymore. "What are you?"

Kore chuckled. "Direct, but I can work with that. Come now, little Medium, you're a detective, what do you think I am? I promise to tell you, even if you can't guess."

Shinichi didn't actually roll his eyes, but he certainly wanted to. He supposed he could play this game for a short time. It certainly would keep Kore from noticing he'd managed to get to his lock picks.

"A demon."

Kore snapped his fingers, and whistled. "Oooh, close enough, but it will do. Yes, I'm something like a 'demon', possessing the body of the Amago Kore."

Shinichi blinked, processing the words. Seriously? Kore was actually (something like? What did that even _mean_?) a demon? Then... demon's were real?

It sent his mind reeling and he wondered what he was more shocked over: the fact that they were real or the fact that there was a real demon in front of him. It seemed unthinkable, that demons could be real, that he had never seen one before, and he it left him wondering what else out there was real.

Wait, had he said 'possessing', as in Amago Kore wasn't really some demon in disguise and this demon was actually possessing the real Amago's body? Shinichi's mind flashed to the helplessness of knowing that he himself had been possessed, not once, but _twice_, and the horrible things he had done, and he couldn't imagine what it would be like to be a victim of a real demonic possession.

He bared his teeth in a snarl before he could stop himself. "What's happened to the real Amago Kore?" He couldn't imagine what it would like to be possessed long term.

Kore crossed his arms, actually looking affronted. "Don't pitch me in with a common ghost possession. This is hardly the same. But since you're so worried: the real Amago Kore is dead."

Shinichi's eyes widened, and he stole a glance at Inaba. "Does she know-" He stopped, catching the expression on Not-Kore's face. Something about it, told him, "She already knows." He narrowed his eyes, following the deduction to its next logical point. "She summoned you."

Kore nodded, and clapped his hands twice. "Very good. Can you guess how we came to be like this?"

It was a challenge, but Kore seemed to be genuinely curious if he could guess it. Shinichi searched his mind for anything he knew about summoning demons. He had read about blood sacrifices, just to have the knowledge if it ever came up, and other things like it. But he had never read anything about people calling demons to possess the dead.

Unless... "This wasn't planned?" When Kore nodded his head, Shinichi grasped around for anything else. He didn't like _guessing_, but there wasn't enough there to be sure of anything. "What went wrong when she summoned you?"

Kore 'hm'ed. "I suppose we have a moment or two for a little story. Three months ago, Amago Kore was killed in a traffic accident. Tragic story, really. He had been on his way to a jewelry store a town over to buy a ring for little Norime-chan. On the way back, he was killed in a hit and run. Driver was never caught." Something dark glinted in the thing's eyes. "By the police, anyway."

Shinichi hissed. "You killed the driver, didn't you?"

"Yes." No shame, but no pleasure either. It was too base for the thing wearing Kore's skin to acknowledge. "But that's skipping a chapter, Medium-sama. Little Norime-chan heard about it, and she went a little insane. Apparently decided when she couldn't find Kore's ghost that she didn't want to see any ghosts. But instead of burying away her gift, she decided to rid Hananomashi of all it's ghosts. Which is where I come into the picture."

Shinichi thought back to the ghosts he and Kaito had seen passing them while looking for Ishimaru. Of the call that had nearly taken Kaito with it. "The disappearing ghosts... that was you."

Kore nodded. "Yes. You see, when Norime-chan summoned me, she nearly botched the ritual. To tell you the truth, I don't think she'd ever done something that high level. Didn't understand summoning me came at a high price."

"And this... 'price', lead to you possessing Amago-san's body."

"Amago Kore was still the person she treasured most, even in death. She nearly backed out of the deal, when she finally understood what the price was, but in the end... she agreed."

So, Inaba had sold out the man she loved, in a way. Shinichi inwardly sneered at the woman. How could she bear to do such a thing, and desecrate Kore's memory in such a degree? It was just... sickening. Absolute madness, and just sickening.

If all this had happened three months ago, then that meant, "You still proposed to her."

"Remembered that, didn't you?" Kore waved a hand. "All an act. I think she's blocked it from her mind what her beloved Amago Kore really is, and personally, I just like messing with her." He laughed, seriously amused. "She's too much fun to play with!"

Shinichi's expression hardened. He didn't feel an ounce of sympathy for Inaba, she had dug her own grave, but while they were telling stories, he had to know the answer to his biggest burning question: "What does this all have to do with me?"

Kore's laughter ended with a startled note. "You... You really don't know?" He blinked at Shinichi. "None of these foolish little people told you?"

The detective didn't react, merely let the thing draw it's own conclusions. Kore placed a hand against his forehead, hand sliding down his face as he chuckled, helplessly. "They really didn't tell you. Well, I'll just have to give you a clue." Kore leaned back in, this time going so far as to whisper in Shinichi's ear.

"The ritual isn't complete."

Shinichi drew back. He looked past Kore to the alter, and then back to Kore, mind mulling over the information. When Kore straightened, his expression was of someone patiently waiting for a child to figure out the question all on their own. He felt Shinichi had all the pieces, now all he had to do was figure them out.

This was all to rid Hananomachi of it's ghost infestation. Inaba had summoned the demon to do so, but something had clearly gone wrong - why else would there still be so many ghosts left in the town? Obviously, this all had something to do with him, although he couldn't quite figure out what-

Wait. The summoning had gone wrong. They had dragged him, Shinichi, out into an abandoned building. They were _preparing_ him for something. Something that-

Shinichi's eyes widened, and all the pieces feel into place. "This is a summoning." This was a _summoning_ and they were going to try the ritual again. The only way to summon a demon was through a blood sacrifice and they were going to use _him_ to do it!

Shinichi glared, hissing in fury at their sheer _arrogance_. They had murdered two innocent police officers who had nothing to do with this. They had nearly gotten Kaito killed because he was in their way. And now, they intended to kill him all for some woman's demented crusade! What gave them the right to involve and kill innocent people that had nothing to do with any of this?

Shinichi let show how pathetic he thought Kore - all of them - really was. "Why bother, you can already call them to you? Or are you just that pathetic a demon?"

Kore moved so fast, Shinichi didn't even see him move. One moment, he was standing with his arms crossed, the next, Shinichi's head snapped to the side, his cheek and jaw smarting. It took a moment for his to process that Kore had back handed him. "I may not be at my best," Kore warned, "But I'm still powerful enough to kill you."

Kore leaned in again, following when Shinichi tried to back away. "There is one ghost I can not touch at this level. I'm sure you remember him? He seems to like you a lot."

He didn't even need to guess. Shinichi knew who he meant. "Kawaguchi Ishimaru."

"Yes," Kore murmured, lips brushing against the skin of Shinichi's neck. For a moment, Shinichi wondered if this was about to step into some kind of vampire territory, but Kore seemed content to merely ...hover. "Kawaguchi Ishimaru has grown powerful with age, and with repeated exposure to your... energy. It's... quite interesting, I must say so."

Shinichi couldn't stop the flinch as Kore actually _licked_ his neck, like he was some sort of delicacy. His hands jerked to push him away, before he remembered they were restrained. He tried to escape by moving around the beam, but Kore's hand on his hips stopped him cold. In the end, all he could do was turn his head away as Kore continued his assault on his person, the demon running his other hand up the detective's exposed throat. "I would love a little taste of what he finds so addicting that he would risk weakening himself to possess you, but all things taste better with patience."

Shinichi glared at Kore, pressing himself against the beam. "Back. Off." He was proud that his voice held steady, despite the frantic beating of his heart, and his body never once trembled.

Kore laughed softly in his ear, but took a step back, holding up his hands and actually having the audacity to lick his lips as if searching for any lingering taste. "At the moment of your death, all that pretty little power of yours will be mine. Believe me, I can wait."

With that, Kore turned his back on Shinichi and stepped over to talk with Inaba, Sonoda, and the rest of the group. Everything about his stance saying that he had completely put aside ...whatever the fuck that had just been.

Shinichi glanced at the officers to see their reactions, but neither would meet his eyes. He could tell they had found that as disturbing as Shinichi had, but still... they hadn't stopped it. Shinichi realized he had no idea why any of these other people were willing to help Inaba and Kore on their crazed mission.

Something told him, he never would.

Inaba stood from her spot amongst Sonoda's group, four bowls stacked up on each other carefully as to not spill the contents. Shinichi watched her with wary eyes as she approached. Kore, Sonoda and three others of the group followed silently behind her. The remainder of the scattered groups stood also, one person from each presenting either rope, wood, or what was unmistakably lighter fluid.

Shinichi didn't have any doubts what they planned to do with them either.

Inaba came to stand between Shinichi and her followers, leaving Shinichi with her back and only her body language to gauge her intentions. The detective blinked when he spotted an unmistakable bulge sticking out of her shirt, and wondered if she wasn't concealing a weapon of some sort. A knife, perhaps? It would certainly fit the occasion.

"Everyone, the time has finally come. After all our prayers, someone with the power to deliver us from our terror has arrived." She turned to Shinichi and bowed, once to him. When she stood again, he could see her smiling without a single care, as if she wasn't about to ruthlessly kill an innocent man.

Behind her, her followers did the same, each toning their thanks. Whether it was to him for coming to 'deliver' them, or to some deity, he didn't know.

He ignored them, focusing on Inaba. "This won't fix things, Inaba-san." He was trying to appeal to her senses, if she had any left. "The ghosts aren't the source of all this. You have to accept Kore's death and move on."

If Inaba had heard him at all, she didn't falter. She stood and stepped back, nodding permission to the people behind her.

The person, a male in his late teens, with rope came forward first, and Shinichi had decided that he was done playing the willing victim. The moment the teen was close enough, Shinichi braced himself against the wood and delivered a solid _kick_ to the kid's chest. The force of it knocked the air from the teen's lunges, sending him tumbling to the ground and loosing his hold on the rope. The rope itself went skidding across the room, and with it, came the screams of several of the followers.

Shinichi glared a warning to the other members of the group, a promise that if any of them tried to touch him, there would be consequences. They looked at each other, before the first brave one inched close enough to roll a log over to his feet. When he didn't kick it back, the next one and the next one, until a total of eight logs were rolled to his feet.

The member holding the lighter fluid seemed uncertain how to approach him without getting a vicious response, and ultimately just opted to splash it from a distance and hope for the best. Shinichi flinched when it hit him, but most of it wound up on the floor than on him or the logs. It seemed enough to please them, though, and Inaba nodded. Shinichi allowed them their ignorance of the weapons they had just given him, prepared for when the moment was right to use them.

"To your places everyone."

Kore stepped forward to join Inaba, while Sonoda and the three other's from that group came to stand at what could only be pre-decided points. Shinichi studied them, realizing that each point was perfectly three meters apart from the next person, leaving them standing in a square like shape around Shinichi, Kore and Inaba. The remainder of the group and the officers, all backed away, Morishige stepping over to stand in front of the door. He would be a tricky target when it was time to take him down, but Shinichi didn't doubt he could hit him.

For a moment, the group stood silent. None of them seemed to breath, and Shinichi realized they were taking a moment to savor this. Their hard work was about to pay off and they wanted to enjoy this.

Too bad Shinichi was going to have to ruin it for them, no?

The moment seemed to end, and Inaba stepped forward. She placed the first of her bowls down, this one containing water and what appeared to be a blue candle. "Spirit of the East, I welcome you into the circle."

Sonoda bent down as Inaba stood, lighting the little floating candle.

As Inaba walked in a curved path to the next person, Shinichi was able to guess what she was doing. She was casting a Magic Circle. He had read about them, but he had never actually thought any one could bring themselves to actually perform such a thing. Were there actually people that believed that an imaginary circle and four points could protect them from 'evil spirits'?

Inaba placed her second, third and fourth bowls down to be lit, calling the spirits of the South, West, and North, respectively into her circle before coming to stand at the first point. Hands free of the bowls, she made a motion as if to close an imaginary wall, saying to the 'Spirits': "I close the circle, and bless it. So mote it be."

Shinichi glanced around, unimpressed. Nothing, as far as he could tell, had changed, and yet, none of the people who'd stood at the four directional points made any move to enter the circle, nor did Inaba or Kore move to exit it. If Shinichi wasn't mistaken, if anyone entered or exited the circle, it would be broken and they would have to start again. A petty part of himself wanted to see what would happen if he kicked some_thing_ out of the circle and if it counted too, but he refrained.

The young leader took a deep breath. Slowly, she turned and pulled the knife he had only been partially joking about expecting her to be carrying. It was even a ridiculously ornamental one. She adjusted it in her grip, and as she approached Shinichi, he felt the cuff he'd been picking finally give. He barely managed to catch it and keep it from giving him away. Glaring at her, Shinichi dared her to come closer.

"Blood, gives life and energy to all things." Inaba spoke, clear and carefully, as if everything she said were a spell. "When forcefully spilt the chance to steal that energy is made." She paused just out of immediate kicking distance. "Also Fire, to burn away the impurities of the body and to cleanse the spirit. We will not send you tainted with this sacrifice into the next life."

Shinichi wanted to roll his eyes. Did she expect him to thank her for being considerate?

Each movement she made was carefully measured and calculated, and she followed the circle, forcing Shinichi to keep his eyes on her or keep them on Kore, whom had begun to step forward as well. Deciding Inaba was the more dangerous one since she had a lethal weapon, he turned around the beam to keep facing her. She walked until she was standing on the opposite side of where she began, but she still never came any closer.

She didn't have to. What Shinichi hadn't counted on was Kore reaching around the beam and catching him by the throat and shoulders, pinning him to the beam. Startled, the detective gagged as the other man dug his arm in too deep, momentarily cutting off his air supply. Instinctively, Shinichi brought his freed hands up to pull at the arm, giving away that he's gotten them loose. Kore simply shifted his weight to accommodate, the movement allowing Shinichi a much needed breath, but unfortunately leaving him still pinned to the beam.

Inaba took advantage of the distraction, darting in until she was breaching personal space and kicking her away became impossible. Victory shown in her expression, and her eyes went wide, madness showing itself at last, as she raised the knife above her shoulders.

"Thank you for your sacrifice, Kudo-kun. You will not be forgotten."

With those words, she plunged the knife down. Shinichi threw out a hand and braced himself as best he could, knowing this was going to hurt regardless-

Suddenly, Inaba yelped, the heat of her body suddenly gone, and Shinichi hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes until he opened them to the sound of metal clattering on the floor. Startled, he turned as best he could to follow the sound, baffled when he saw the knife laying on the ground and Inaba holding her hand as if something had impaled it.

Behind him, Kore grunted and jerked, arms falling away as he staggered back, and Shinichi turned just in time to see him reach behind his head to his upper back and pull off what was unmistakably...

...A playing card?

Shinichi stared, unable to believe his eyes, let alone allow himself the hope he could already feel bubbling in his chest and threatening to send him to his knees in a near giddy kind of relief. If someone was using playing cards as weapons, then that could only mean that-

"I know they do things differently out here in the country," A familiar voice cheerfully stated, the sound seemingly coming from everywhere at once, "But where I come from flowers and chocolates come before the ropes and blindfolds."

Shinichi snorted. That only made everything he'd been through sound like they were just playing a little game of Court the Detective. Shinichi watched as the group broke out into gasps and shouts, spinning around as they tried futilely to locate the source of the mysterious voice. He wasn't one to waste a distraction, immediately making use of his unintentionally offered weapons to take out the guns in the area.

Without a glance up, even if he knew the Magician was in the rafters somewhere, he called, "You're late."

There was a soft noise, like a scoff, and what sounded like a "So ungrateful," but with all the other noise, Shinichi couldn't be sure. Behind him, Inaba cried out, and a quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Kaito had deemed them worthy of his actual presence and had dropped down to join them in the circle.

For a moment, Shinichi wanted to ignore every person and thing in the room, save for his partner. It was all he could do not to just run up to him and just... hug him, hold him, _touch_ him; something to affirm that he was real and he couldn't help be drink in the sight of him: whole, healthy and _alive_.

Kaito had done it. Somehow, that loveable idiot of his had done it, and he didn't know why he'd ever doubted that he could.

Shinichi opened his mouth, to say something, he was sure was just a meaningless jab, when Kaito moved and Shinichi could see a sort of... he wanted to call it another after image, but this one was different from the one he'd seen from Kore. This time there was no mistaking what it was.

Why was he seeing Ishimaru when he looked at Kaito? Unless-

Kaito turned, catching his gaze. The magician smiled, the light that could only be Kaito in his eyes, and Shinichi saw him start to smile, before he spotted something just behind him. Shinichi felt someone behind him, started to turn, even as Kaito shouted out a warning, but it still caught Shinichi off guard when something hard slammed into the back of his head.

Spots flickered across his eyes, and Shinichi didn't even feel himself hit the ground as his legs gave out under him. The pain registered seconds after he realized he was on the ground, his hands flying up to protect his already injured skull. He thought he heard someone, Kaito more than likely, shouting in outrage to the mistreatment, but he could hardly hear a thing through the rush of blood in his hears.

Someone (the person who had hit him?) grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him roughly to his feet, forcing him to stand or topple again.

"ENOUGH! Everyone be quiet!"

The members of the cult abruptly fell silent, freezing wherever they stood. Shinichi scrambled within his own mind to regain his equilibrium, placing his free hand on the person holding him up to stay up right. It took longer than it should have for him to realize that the person was taller than him and longer still that it was Kore.

Kore tightened his grip on Shinichi's arm and took a step back, pulling him with him and forcing the teenager to take a step back himself. "I will not tolerate any more disruptions." Kore sneered in Kaito's direction, displeasure evident on his face. "This ritual continues. The circle has not been broken-" (well, there went the theory about objects being able to break a Magic Circle) "-And nothing is going to stop us from finishing."

Kaito snorted, and Shinichi peered at him from beneath his bangs. The magician had come to rest in a easy-going position, his beloved Card Gun's barrel resting against his shoulder. Everything about him said that he saw no one in this room as a threat. When Kore focused in on him, Kaito smiled pleasantly. "You're going to have to postpone it." He used the Card Gun to gesture to the doors. "You see, I hardly came alone. I'm just a little ahead of schedule."

The followers looked at each other, and then at the doors, each of them trying to see if he was serious or not. One or two of them even looked a little nervous.

Shinichi laughed, softly. "They just can't stop chasing you, can they?" The words weren't that loud, but then, they weren't meant for anyone other than Kaito.

Kaito had the gall to look like he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. "Surely you aren't implying something?" He waved it off, turning back to Kore and Inaba, his smile transforming into a victory smirk.

"Like they say in the movies: 'We've got you surrounded'."

Sure enough, sirens could be heard outside, distant at first, but coming closer with each passing moment. One woman gasped and raced to the door, peering outside before Morishige could pull her back and slam it shut again.

"Police! The police are coming!"

"What?"

"What do we do? We haven't finished the ritual!"

Each member broke out into horrified yelps and cries, and all around them, chaos broke out again. Kore ignored them, keeping his eyes on Kaito. His words were directed at Inaba, though. "We won't get another chance like this."

Inaba, separated from Kore by Kaito, nodded. She, too, only seemed to have eyes for Kaito, although her brow was steadily drawing together. Shinichi wondered if she was seeing the same after image he was.

"Maybe we won't have to."

Shinichi felt Kore shift beside him, but he couldn't spare the moment to see his expression. Inaba was still rubbing her arm, although it seemed she was just doing it subconsciously. Shinichi suspected she had forgotten all about the injury as she continued to stare. "I think the last ghost is here."

Kaito's face was blank. To Inaba it wouldn't give a thing away, but Shinichi had long since learned to read the magician, even like this. Kaito knew exactly what she was talking about, and Shinichi was beginning to get an idea of what might have happened.

Ishimaru was still in Kaito's body. How they were both there was beyond him, but he could almost see the killer in the spaces behind Kaito, like a shadow that didn't obey any form of light. Shinichi fought to keep his mouth shut, even as his curiosity begged him to ask what had happened.

Kore raised an eyebrow, looking from Kaito to Inaba, and then back to Kaito. Shinichi couldn't tell if he could see the image or not. Either way, Kore seemed amused. "Very impressive. There aren't many human's that can turn the tables on a ghost powerful enough to possess them."

Kaito gave a mock bow, taking the compliment. "Thank you very much, Amago-san."

The sound Kore made sounded like a laugh he hadn't actually meant to make out loud. "A polite one. How about this, Magician-san? I want to make you a deal."

Kaito narrowed his eyes as he straightened, but other wise seemed bored. "Oh? And why should I make a deal, when I'm holding all the cards?"

The demon smiled, and Shinichi could almost feel the temperature of the room dropping. He opened his mouth to warn Kaito about what Kore really was, but Kore was already a step ahead of him, jerking him to the side and wrapping a hand around Shinichi's throat. The detective gasped in surprise before the hand cut off his air completely, and his free hand flew up to dig into Kore's to try and pry it loose.

Kaito's hand tightened on the grip of the Card Gun, but otherwise he kept his Poker Face intact. Shinichi might have praised him if he could form words.

"All I want is Ishimaru's soul. Hand it over, and I'll give you back your friend." Kore's voice sounded pleasant on the surface, but Shinichi could hear the promise of violence underneath, and he knew Kaito could too.

Kaito hummed to himself, keeping his eyes on Kore's, although Shinichi could see his worry in the way he held himself tense.

The demon leaned forward over Shinichi's shoulder, the hot breath of his exhaling almost lost in the detective's dimming consciousness. Kore loosened his hold enough for Shinichi to take a desperately needed breath. "Tell him what I really am."

Shinichi didn't feel like taking orders. Didn't even like the idea of being a hostage. Able to breath, he drove his elbow back into Kore's stomach, and was dismayed when Kore completely failed to react. The demon merely tapped a finger against his chin, and murmured, "That won't help at all."

Shinichi grit his teeth, knowing he had no choice but to comply. "He's not human. He's some sort of demon Inaba summoned." Trying to ignore the fact that Kore was still breathing on his _neck_ like some sort of demented dog, he added, "They're behind the ghosts acting weird."

Kore tapped his fingers again, only this time it felt more like being petted. Shinichi tried to free himself, but it proved to be just as futile an attempt as the first as Kore, once again, failed to react to any sort of pain. The detective had to concede that there was a very real possibility the demon couldn't feel any.

Outside, the dim sound of someone shouting through, what was more than likely a blow horn, warned the people inside to surrender. Although he couldn't see them, Shinichi doubted a single member of the cult had moved towards the doors.

Inaba stepped to her right; one step, two steps, until she was standing to Kaito's left and no longer directly behind him. Kaito spared her a glance, to see what she was doing. When she failed to make any sort of threatening move against him, he ignored her in favor of Kore and Shinichi.

The witch sneered. "Why don't we just take it back? You've never had any trouble taking the ghosts."

Kore gave her a look, that because she was looking at Kaito, she completely missed. "Now, now, little Norime-chan, it's hardly that simple. It seems our little magician has learned some real magic." The hand that was still holding tight to Shinichi's arm let go, the detective swallowing a protest as Kore wrapped an arm around him to pull him tighter to the demon's own body. "Did you have that shield before Norime-chan tried to kill you?"

Kaito blinked, real confusion crossing his face. "Shield? I'm afraid I don't know what you're refering to, Amago-san."

Shinichi could feel Kore's smile against his skin, and it made him want to shove a hand in the thing's face, dignity be damned. The pounding "in his head had already worn his patience thin and he was quickly growing tired of this little game.

"Interesting, but it hardly changes anything. Tick, tock, Magician-san. Your friend or the ghost?"

Kaito tilted his head to the side, endlessly patient. "How do I know you'll keep your end of the bargain? It's hard to trust someone holding a hostage."

Kore made a pleased sound, the rumble of it deep in his chest and Shinichi was uncomfortable with how well he could feel it against his back. "Smart one, your boy is, Medium-sama." Shinichi glared at him as best he could in his position, although Kore didn't seem to care. "Whether you believe me or not, a demon's word is a binding contract. If I get Kawaguchi Ishimaru's soul, as part of my contract with Norime-chan over there, then I have no more reason to remain in this plane of existence, and I just poof right out without another word."

"And what happens to Ghost-san after I hand him over to you?"

Shinichi found that he was actually rather curious about that, too, now that he thought about it. He hadn't seen a single one of the ghosts that had vanished anywhere in the building, and something told him that what ever Kore was doing, it wasn't as nice as sending them on to the next life.

"Last freebie, Magician-san. Anymore questions after this will cost you." Kore tsked. "Souls are a dime a dozen, these days, but they're still infinitely precious." He gripped Shinichi's chin, forcing him to tilt his head to the side and bear his neck to the demon's ...nuzzling. "I prefer pure souls, like your's, Medium-sama, but there is still something to be had for _old_ souls, like Kawaguchi's."

Out of the corner of his eye, Shinichi saw Kore look up and could only guess that he had meet Kaito's eyes, his smile sinister. He liked his lips, like a pleased cat that was about to be handed a tasty meal.

"I devour them. They're food for my kind." He shrugged. "After that... there's only oblivion."

Shinichi and Kaito looked at each other, and not even Kaito's Poker Face could hide how disturbed he was with the revelation. They would be condemning a man's soul to... oblivion?

Shinichi couldn't imagine it. It wasn't as if he was an aethist or anything, even if he wasn't sure what he believed waited for him after he died. He had taken it for granted that he knew that all living creatures had a soul, but he had never pondered, in any real depth, what happened when someone passed over. All he knew, because he had seen it with his own eyes, was that _something_ was waiting.

To think of everything just... ending, just like _that_, was too much. He had absolutely no love for Ishimaru, and wished he would get what he deserved, even if it was only in death. Some part of himself wished him to whatever form of hell that may or may not exist, and that he'd remain there for all of eternity. To suffer as all those women had suffered.

To just cease to exist... No, in the end, he didn't wish Kawaguchi Ishimaru oblivion.

That was too _easy_.

Shinichi searched his partner's face for any clue what Kaito was thinking, and the magician must have seen his decision in his eyes, because Kaito's own expression darkened.

Shinichi knew what he was going to choose, and while he couldn't say he was surprised, he couldn't help but feel ...disappointed. He knew that Kaito could see this too, and what little remained of his expressions blanked completely. Not even Shinichi could read what he was thinking.

Damn it. "Kaito, don-_nhg_!" Shinichi choked around the hand squeezing his throat, twisting and struggling despite Kore's seemingly unbreakable hold. He couldn't let Kaito do this, he couldn't! Not even for him!

"Now, now, Medium-sama, I wasn't talking to you." Kore jerked Shinichi, once, trying to get him to hold still, and Shinichi was forced to either stop or suffocate. "Let Magician-san make his own decisions. He's a big boy."

Kaito was silent a moment more, the only sound in the building that of Shinichi harsh gasps around Kore's hand and the sirens outside. Everything else was silent, as if none of the members of the cult were even breathing.

"...Alright. You can have Kawaguchi Ishimaru."

Shinichi's eyes widened, and he could feel his lips forming the "No!" even if he couldn't voice it.

Kaito, very pointedly, wasn't looking at him.

Kore patted Shinichi's cheek and then pulled his hand away completely, although he didn't remove the arm around his middle. "Good choice, Magician-san." He made a come-hither gesture to Inaba. "Norime-chan should know a way to rid yourself of that pesky ghost."

Inaba stepped forward. She didn't seem particularly fond of the idea of going anywhere near Kaito, and despite the fact that Kaito was politely acknowledging her approach, he didn't appear any more happy with it than she was. "The magic in the circle hasn't been used, so it doesn't have to be cast again. We can skip that part."

She drew a tiny green pouch from her pocket, pulling it open and emptying the contents into her hand before stuffing it partially back into her pocket. "Sage is universal enough that it will serve for this." She closed her hand and held it out for Kaito to accept. The magician allowed her to dump the plant into his hand, and Inaba dusted the remains from her hands.

Neither of them seemed to notice the bag drop from her pocket. Kore tensed in anticipation, just slightly, and Shinichi blinked. He had the feeling, just a nagging thing, really, that Kore was more interested in the pouch that had just hit the floor than he was in this whole 'exorcism' business, although he couldn't guess why.

"Take the sage and burn it. As you breath in the smoke, imagine the spirit being forced from your body. You can do it with a chant if you need to."

Kaito glanced up at her. "A chant?"

She shrugged. "Any will do, just as long as you believe it will work. The sage will do the rest." She stepped back, allowing him whatever room he needed.

Kaito stared down at the dried leaves in his hands, an eye brow raising, and Shinichi wondered if he even believed in this stuff. After a moment's pause, Kaito shrugged and with a flick of his hand a match appeared seemingly from no where. A lit match, even. When he'd found the moment to light it was beyond Shinichi.

Inaba, despite her displeasure, seemed impressed, and Kore hummed a noncommittal noise.

The magician knelt down, pressing the plant leaves to the ground and dropping the match onto the little pile. The dried leaves caught fire easily, and a thin line of smoke trailed up from it. Kaito looked to Shinichi, his Poker Face falling just long enough for Shinichi to see something like an apology in his eyes. Shinichi shook his head, even though he knew Kaito wouldn't change his mind.

Without looking away, Kaito leaned in and took a deep wif of the smoke.

Shinichi watched as Kaito's eyes closed, his mouth parted just slightly. His lips didn't move, apparently confident in his ability to do the chant in his _head_, even as his brows drew together in concentration. Shinichi could only imagine what was going on below the surface, and whether or not the sage was indeed having any effect.

It seemed that nothing was happening, and after a few minutes, the pile burned out, the smoke died off with the fire. Kaito, however, remained still, all of his attention diverted inward. Shinichi found himself hoping this worked, regardless of whatever happened to Ishimaru's soul.

He just wanted Ishimaru _out_.

Finally, just as it had begun to seem like this wasn't going to work, and they would have to think of something else, a white, wispy like shape began to rise from Kaito's kneeling form. Kaito dropped forward, gasping and barely catching himself with his hands. Sweat glistened on his skin in the artifical light and he appeared to have exhausted himself with whatever he had done.

Shinichi struggled with Kore's grip on him, and nearly stumbled when he found himself free. He didn't waste any time wondering what Kore was going to do next, his attention only on checking on his partner. He dropped to his knees beside Kaito, hands coming to rest on the magician's shoulders. "Are you alright?"

Kaito didn't answer, and his body felt feverish to the touch. He still managed to hold a thumb up in a manner that Shinichi gathered was meant to be reassuring, and the detective allowed him to lean on him as they got back to their feet. Shinichi pressed his hands to Kaito's face, forcing him to look at him properly for a moment. He only released him when Kaito pulled his hands away, nodding and muttering, "I'm fine. Ghost-san just put up more of a fight than I thought he would. I had to call for Imposter-san's help."

Shinichi gave him an odd look. Should he have been worried?

Beside them, the white, wispy thing hardened and spread, until it was the correct height and width to be a human's. It seemed to be having trouble keeping its form, but there was enough there for Shinichi to identify it as Ishimaru. The nearly formless face appeared to be furious, and it's anger was more than likely with the ghost's situation.

Inwardly, Shinichi braced himself for the chill that always came with a ghost's appearance. While it might do Kaito a little good, the detective wasn't particularly looking forward to it. He just hoped that it didn't come with that horrible new draining effect that Ishimaru had inflicted on him back at the barn that very same morning.

He was so caught up in bracing himself for the effects, that he almost missed the fact that despite the fact that the temperature had dropped some, sure, there wasn't really all that much of a drop. He blinked in confusion, glancing at Inaba to see if she was noticing the same thing.

He blinked again when Inaba actually _swayed_, her hand coming to rest on her chest and she winced like she was in actual physical pain.

Shinichi frowned, baffled as to what had just happened. Ishimaru was obviously growing powerful enough to solidify it's form, but it obviously wasn't getting the energy from him and it appeared it was feeding off Inaba. That didn't make any sense, though, unless the sage pouch had been her only protection. If so, that still didn't explain why _he_ wasn't affected.

Surely, this so called 'shield' of Kaito's they had mentioned, if it even existed, wouldn't protect him, too, would it?

Whatever was going on, Ishimaru didn't seem to particularly care. The ghost took one look at Kore, and a look of pure, unadulterated fear passed over his face. Frantically, the ghost searched for a way out, but it seemed that this 'magic circle' was at least good for keeping things _in_ as it was supposedly to keep things _out_.

Kore held out a hand, eyes boring into Ishimaru's. When he spoke, there seemed to be something... inhuman to it. "Kawaguchi Ishimaru, I command thee, as owner of your name. Come to me."

Ishimaru stilled. The ghost turned it's head, eyes wide and oddly blank. Slowly, as if by someone else's power, it approached Kore. Shinichi twitched with the need to stop the ghost, but Kaito's grip on his shoulders tightened, and the detective knew he was the only thing keeping the magician on his feet.

Ishimaru stopped in front of Kore, reaching out a hand to touch Kore's. As it did so, its form dispersed and reformed itself as a tiny ball of light, looking, for once, like a traditional spirit. Kore took hold of the little ball, and proceeded to pop it into his mouth like most people ate popcorn.

Kore didn't even bother to chew, swallowing Ishimaru whole.

For a moment, no one moved. Inaba stared, wide eyed at Kore, like she couldn't believe what she had just seen. Then, like the spell had been broken, she sank to her knees, tears gathering in her too wide eyes.

"It's over. It's... finally over."

Around them, the members of the cult glanced at each other, blinking themselves out of a daze. Each one of them had some form of triumph or relief in their expression and two of them actually cheered.

"Inaba-san, is he really gone?"

Shinichi eyed the speaker, Sonoda, and Inaba nodded. She still appeared to be a little out of it. "Yes. Yes, he's gone. They're all gone." As she looked up to meet Sonoda's eyes, a smile spread across her face. Shinichi thought it looked too ...pure, to belong to someone who had just condemned the souls of countless people to oblivion.

She pointed to the door with one hand, and used the other to lift herself back onto her feet. "Let the police in, please, while I open and disperse the circle. We have no more reason to keep them waiting."

Sonoda nodded, a matching smile on her face. Morishige exchanged looks with Tozawa over by the door, and moved to unlock the doors. Over all, everyone appeared to be celebrating their accomplishment.

Shinichi didn't even bother to hide his scoff at the whole lot of them.

Kaito pushed at him, gently, having recovered enough to stand on his own. Shinichi gave him a questioning look, and Kaito nodded his reassurance. The detective wanted to inspect him further, but instead contended with the mere fact that he could actually touch Kaito and feel the warmth of his skin, even through his shirt.

Movement caught his eye, and Shinichi turned to see Kore approaching Inaba, who didn't notice as she dispelled the first of the 'spirits' she'd 'welcomed' to take part in this madness. Shinichi's eyes narrowed, and there was something... something about the way that Kore was moving. His body language practically screamed intent. He didn't think he liked the way the demon was looking at her, either.

Every instinct in his body promptly stood up and said, 'This is bad. This is _very_ bad.'

Shinichi took a step forward, without thinking, not paying much attention to the feel of something hitting his shoe, nor to the sound of something wooden skating across the floor. He must have hit one of the bowls, shattering the proper dispelling ritual, but he couldn't care.

Beside him, Kaito glanced between him and the other two, trying to see what had the detective transfixed. "Shinichi?"

Shinichi took another step forward. "Something's wrong."

But what? What was Kore doing?

Inaba noticed Kore, turning to give him her full attention. It took a moment to identify the way she was looking at Kore, and Shinichi almost had to pity her. That was love in her eyes, and he realized that she must see this Kore as if he was the real Kore. He didn't know if she had forgotten what that thing really was, or if she was so delusional at this point that she just didn't care.

Kore reached up to run the back of his hand down her cheek, and she leaned into the touch. She blinked up at him, confused at the sudden affection. "Kore?"

"It's time, Norime-chan. It was fun, while it lasted."

Shinichi couldn't see Kore's face, but whatever crossed it seemed to caused Inaba to tense. What was Kore doing?

The demon raised his other hand to rest it on her other cheek. With careless abandon, he stroked down either side of her face, hands coming to rest half on her jaw, half on her neck. As they came to a stop, Shinichi knew, with horrifying clarity, what Kore was about to do. Inwardly, Shinichi cursed his own stupidity.

How could he think this was over?

How could she have?

"Kore, what are you-"

Shinichi was already throwing himself forward, shoving past Kaito and knowing it was too late, but he still had to try. He had to try and stop him, because if he didn't he'd never be able to live with himself-

Inaba's eyes widened the moment the demon's hands tightened around her jaw; her _head_, her mouth dropping open to say something that was lost forever, as the demon in one, fluid motion _snapped_ her neck.

If she's made a sound, it was lost in the crash of the doors bursting open as Ishida's men charged in. The shouts for every one to freeze might as well have been redundant, as not a single member of the cult had moved an inch since Kore had broken Inaba's neck.

Shinichi ignored them, catching Inaba's body as Kore released it. He checked for a pulse, even though it was obvious she was dead. Her weight dragged him down with her, and Shinichi glared up at Kore, furious. "Why did you kill her? You had what you wanted!"

Kore knelt down, reaching over to close her eyes as if he were sending her off to sleep. Patting her cheek, Kore responded, his tone flippant and mild. "She forgot the price of our deal. Her soul, for her wish."

The detective pressed his lips together to stop himself from gritting his teeth, unable to articulate a single response.

Kore rose back to his feet, turning to the police. "Well, that's a wrap folks! Thank you so much for your participation."

Ishida, standing at the front of the group, pointed his gun at Kore. "What are you doing, Kore? What the hell is going on here?"

Kore didn't answer. Shinichi doubted he'd believe him if the demon did explain. The demon pressed a finger to his lips, as if telling them all to keep a secret. He waved to the group, before, all at once, he too crumpled to the floor.

He didn't get back up.

Everyone in the room stared, too far beyond their limits to be moved by surprises anymore. One of the officers stepped forward, cautiously, reaching down and pressing two fingers to Kore's pulse when the demon failed to move. Frowning, the officer shook his head and pulled his hand away.

Kore was dead; the demon finally gone.

Shinichi stared blankly at the corpse, some part of himself feeling gipped. He and Kaito had survived, and there was no doubt ever single member of the cult would be arrested, but in the end...

It felt like the only person that had won was the demon.

Ishida stepped forward, looking over the group. Disbelief shown clearly in every inch of his body language, even if none of it was on his face, when he spotted Tozawa and Morishige. "So, the kid was telling the truth." He marched over to the officers, both of whom kept their hands up. Their guns lay harmlessly on the floor at their feet. They must have put them down in when the officers came in. "What the hell is going on here? Tell me you weren't in on this."

Morishige glanced once at his chief, but Tozawa just looked straight ahead, resolve never faultering. Neither of them answered.

Shinichi gently laid Inaba on the floor, letting her limbs fall as they would. Rubbing his hands against his pants, he got to his feet, mindful of the way the room swayed. He had pushed himself too hard. "Tozawa-keiji and Morishige-keiji were the ones that brought me here. You're going to want to comb the river up the road. The bodies of Tsunemasa-keiji and Mizuguchi-keiji should still near by. You'll find the bullets that killed them match the bullets in Tozawa-keiji's and Morishige-keiji's guns."

Several of the officers looked at each other in horror, and grief flashed across Ishida's face. "Fukui-kun and Sada-kun are dead?" He turned on his officers, boring down onto them, his fury unmistakable. "Did you really kill Tsunemasa and Mizuguchi?"

Morishige didn't look at Ishida again, but he did nod. Tozawa's lips thinned, and he nodded as well.

Ishida-keibu balled his hands into fists. He probably wanted to punch both of the officers, but he had too much control for something that stupid. Releasing the tension in his body, or perhaps just burying it for the moment, Ishida pointed at the door. "Toshiya, get on the radio. I want those bodies found."

Toshiya nodded, and quickly moved out the door.

Ishida looked past Shinichi, shaking his head when he spotted Inaba. "Oh, Norime, you foolish girl..." The words weren't meant for anyone in the room, and everyone at least had the grace to politely pretended they hadn't heard.

Ishida turned to Shinichi, eyes dark with a mixture of emotions. "Explain to me what happened here, Kudo. And how did Kore and..." He ran a hand down his face. "Inaba die?"

Shinichi considered his options. He hadn't forgotten what had landed him in this position to begin with: a warrant for his arrest for double homicide. Telling the truth here - the whole truth would land him in the funny farm, even with a second witness. One look at the followers of the cult proved that they were going to be useless in this.

Might as well start with the arrest. "Your officers approached me on the street. They arrested me on the grounds that I had murdered Akimoto Haruko and Amago Tadae."

Ishida actually blinked. "We have no suspects on the murder of Amago Tadae or Akimoto Haruko. I never warranted any arrest, let alone one against you, Kudo-kun." He pointed a finger at Morishige and Tozawa, and demanded, "Is that how you lured Tsunemasa and Mizuguchi into helping you? By falsifying an arrest warrant?"

Morishige nodded. Ishida's patience appeared to be wearing thin with the silent treatment. To Shinichi, he said, "Continue."

Shinichi gestured to the bowls on the floor with one hand, and held up the other wrist to show the cuff still hanging off it. "They brought me here because they were in on a plan with Inaba and Amago, both of whom believed, along with Inaba's cult, that they could summon a demon to rid Inaba of her... delusions."

"'Delusions'?" Ishida put the hand still holding his gun to his hip, and put a hand to his mouth. There wasn't much of a problem in figuring out what Inaba's 'delusions' were. "Those ghosts she claimed to see."

Shinichi nodded. "She believed that the demon would get rid of them. Kore believed that he was possessed by that demon, and that a blood sacrifice would free him completely, so that he could rid the town of any remaining ghosts."

Ishida looked Shinichi up and down, noting his disheveled appearance. He raised an eyebrow at him. "You're still alive."

Shinichi inwardly grimaced. "They were interrupted."

Kaito stepped up to stand by Shinichi and the Inspector noted his presence perhaps for the first time. He didn't look very surprised to see him. "I told you to stay out of this, kid."

The magician grinned at the Inspector, completely unrepentant. "We both know my partner would be dead if I had, Keibu."

Ishida's narrowed eyes said that he didn't doubt it, but he wasn't happy with it. "Alright, so there was an interruption. And?"

"For some reason, they believed they had gotten what they wanted and let me go. Kore turned on Inaba and killed her. You saw everything else." While he talked, Shinichi brought his free hand up to the cuff, and managed to lock pick it open. The cuffs fell to the floor with a soft _chink_. Ishida gave it a minute look, but didn't say a word.

Ishida took in the cult, turning his attention onto them. "Does anyone have anything different to say about what happened here?"

Not a single word. Each stood perfectly still, hands held up for all to see. Ishida took a deep breath to calm himself. "Very well, officers, arrest everyone here but Kudo and Kuroba and get them down to the precinct. I want them talking and I want confessions." He glanced at the bodies, and added, "And somebody remove the bodies. I want to know what Kore did to himself."

Shinichi glanced at him, a part of him wishing he could get his hands on the autopsy report. He was sure it would be... a very thrilling read.

The officers toned the rights of each of the cult, their words just slightly off unison. Since there wasn't, quite, enough officers to arrest everyone, several more officers were called in from outside. Judging from the number of people at the building, Shinichi was suspicious that just about every officer on duty from the station was there. One-by-one, the officers lead the followers out, until the only people left in the building were Shinichi, Kaito, Ishida and an officer Shinichi recognized from that morning. Kyogoku, he believed.

"I want you both to come down to the office to write out a testimony." Ishida waved a hand in Kyogoku's direction. "Kyogoku-keiji and I will escort you down there." To the officer, he added, "We'll take the back roads. I don't want any one to know where these two are until I can be sure that all of Inaba's little 'cult' has been found."

Both teens and the officer nodded. By the time they got outside, themselves, the other officers had all but left with their charges, the last of the cars pulling out onto the side street as they watched. Kyogoku opened the back door to his and Ishida's squad car, holding his hand to the top edge to make sure the boys didn't hit their heads.

Once settled, and the car on it's way, Shinichi finally allowed himself a moment to breathe and cope. He slumped against Kaito, not caring if the officers saw the open show of affection. Reaching across Kaito's lap, his hand sought out Kaito's and he wrapped it loosely around Kaito's wrist, some part desperately searching for a pulse.

A steady beat greeted his inquiry, and he sunk further onto his partner's side. He hadn't realized how exhausted he was, and sleep clawed at his consciousness, even as he pushed it away. There would be time for sleep later.

Kaito shifted, reaching up with his free hand to prod gently against Shinichi's injury and check for any blood. Shinichi felt the magician bury his face in his hair, his breath hot against his scalp, and the slightest of tremors shuddering through him. Shinichi wanted to comfort him, right then, but he knew that until this case was finally closed, he wouldn't be emotionally all there. It wouldn't be fair to Kaito or himself to do it then.

Later though... they would have a lot to talk about.

The trip was blessedly mundane and they slipped into Ishida's office with no trouble. The Inspector waved for them to take a seat as he sought out the proper papers.

"I'm going to have to leave for a bit to check on the progress of the arrests." He pulled open his drawer, and then paused as he seemed to remember something. Reaching out, he lifted up the same pile of termination and vacation papers. He sighed as he found what he wanted, and pulled a few sheets loose.

Ichibachi had apparently not cleaned up, yet.

Ishida separated the papers and handed them to the boys. "I put in a call to the staff down in forensics. Fusae isn't a legal doctor, but she came very close to being one." He eyed Shinichi. "I asked for her to look at that injury, since I somehow had a feeling you'd refuse to go back to the hospital."

Shinichi knew a jab when he heard one, and merely hummed softly in response.

Ishida grunted, but let it go. He threw a look at Kaito as he paused in the door way. "And I don't want to hear that you've been hitting on any more of my staff, boy. Especially not this one."

Shinichi glanced at Kaito. The magician had stopped what he was doing to look curiously over his shoulder at the Inspector. "Oh? Come, now, keibu, she can't be that bad looking."

Ishida snorted. "That's the problem: she's isn't. And she knows it. Flirt with her and it'll go straight to her head."

Kaito gave the man an odd look, but didn't say anything else. Ishida took that as his cue to run, and was out of sight in no time.

Shinichi turned back to his papers. "He's got a point."

The magician pointed his pen at Shinichi. "So does he. You should be back in the hospital."

The detective waved it off. "Only if you'd contend to go too. I can see how tired you are, and who knows what else Ishida's little visit may have done."

Kaito made a noncommittal noise, but let it drop.

They were just finishing their reports, when Yamane - as her badge read - Fusae entered the room. She was every bit as lovely as described, and confidence shown in every move she made. Both of the teens looked up as she entered, and for a moment Fusae seemed unsure who she'd been called up to look at.

She took one look at Shinichi, though, and all of her confusion vanished in an instant. This was probably a testament to how bad he looked.

Fusae smiled, her pretty white teeth showing. "Good evening. You must be Kudo-kun." She turned to Kaito. "And you Kuroba-kun. How are you both feeling?"

"Tired, but I'm starting to feel much better." Kaito presented her with an equally pleasant smile. Where he'd mustered the energy from was beyond Shinichi. The magician, ever the charmer, produced a rose, holding it up for Fusae. "The keibu said you were pretty, but he didn't give you credit."

Something seemed to warm in Fusae's eyes as she took the rose, a mischievous look on her face. "Ishida-keibu was talking about me?"

Shinichi wondered if he should warn Ishida now, while he had a chance. It was the least he could do, right?

Kaito gave her a tilt of the head, in leeway to a bow. "Oh, yes. You should have heard the things he was saying."

The teenage detective decided it would be a good time to intervene. "You must be feeling better, if you're already flirting with people."

The magician gave him a cheeky smile, but even Fusae had to have seen the exhaustion in it.

Fusae chuckled at the scene, and tucked her new rose into the pocket of her coat, mindful not to crush it. Turning to Shinichi, she stepped up beside him, and explained what she was going to do. "I'm just going to check to see if there's any swelling. I'm not a licensed doctor, so you should see a real one if you fear there may be something wrong."

Shinichi saw Kaito glance at him out of the corner of his eye. It was probably that kind of sever, but Shinichi wasn't going to be the one to tell her.

Shinichi nodded his permission, and nearly bit his tongue at even the slightest pressure. The whole back of his head was probably bruised black and blue under his hair.

"Hmm, I don't feel any damage, although the fact that you took a blow to the head while you obviously have a previous injury worries me." She prodded a little higher, coming just below the bandages. "The bone doesn't feel cracked, but you'll have a nasty bump for a while. It looks like your neck took most of this current blow."

Shinichi nodded as she pulled her hands away. When she didn't back off, he realized she was expecting a response from him. "I'll be careful."

It clearly wasn't the response she wanted, but she couldn't force him to do anything. She looked to Kaito, who held both hands up. "I promise I'm just tired, ojousan. But your concern is appreciated."

She 'hm'ed in amusement, and started out the door. "You're cute, kid. You'd be just my type, but I don't think you swing my way."

Kaito gave her a bewildered look, and Shinichi nearly choked on his own tongue. When Kaito looked at him, concerned, Shinichi had to cover his mouth, and he waved him off with his other hand.

Fusae was probably the first person to ever figure out Kaito was gay. The fact that Shinichi could see that just dawning on Kaito's face was something he'd treasure for a long time to come.

It was another twenty minutes before Ishida returned to take their papers. Shinichi promised to keep in contact as the case continued, and his cell phone was always on if they needed anything. Both were released without further complications, although Ishida refused to allow them to leave without an escort. Kyogoku volunteered to take them back to the hotel and it was approaching midnight by the time Shinichi opened the door to their hotel room.

Shinichi paused just inside the door way, the hotel room like something out of another life. So much had happened since they had arrived. It was almost unthinkable that they had only been there for three, going on four, days.

Part of him was already moving on. Part of him wanted to head straight for the shower, and scrub himself clean until he couldn't remember what the demon, Kore's touch felt like.

The rest of him...

Movement behind him, and Shinichi didn't move as Kaito wrapped his arms around him from behind, his chin coming to rest on the detective's shoulder. Shinichi leaned back into him, hands reaching up to cover his partner's.

The rest of Shinichi just wanted this. The steady beat of Kaito's heart reassuring him that he was alive. The privacy to just bask in this openly without worrying about anything else. Both of them were battered and bruised, but they had survived, entirely intact.

Kaito murmured something against his shoulder, Shinichi only catching part of it. Tilting his head slightly to see Kaito's face as best he could in this position, he hummed inquisitively.

The magician placed a kiss to his shoulder. Although his words were still muffed, Shinichi was able to understand him this time.

"I'm so sorry."

Shinichi frowned, twisting around in Kaito's arms to look at him. Kaito let him, placing his hands on Shinichi's hips where he pushed up the fabric of Shinichi's shirt a little to press his hands against summer-warm skin. The muscles twitched as the light touch nearly tickled, but Shinichi didn't try to pull them off. Shinichi himself pressed his hands to either side of Kaito's neck, resting them there.

"Why?" If anyone should have been apologizing, it should have been him. His secrets had dragged the other teen into this and they could have cost Kaito his life.

Kaito gave him a look of disbelief, as if he couldn't comprehend why Shinichi didn't get it. "Shinichi, I promised I'd help keep Kawaguchi from hurting anyone else. I didn't get there in time to save Amago-chan. I... I couldn't save either of you, not then, and not when the officers took you." Kaito bit his lower lip, hands tightening slightly. "I couldn't do anything." He looked away, ashamed.

Shinichi stared, unable to believe what he was hearing. Kaito blamed himself for Tadae's death? For Shinichi's kidnapping?

No. No, this wasn't right at all. This certainly couldn't be left like this.

Shinichi slid his hands up, trying to force the magician to look at him. "Kaito, look at me."

Kaito pulled a face, but when Shinichi added a small, "Please?" he complied. Shinichi wanted to shake him when he saw the fear in his eyes under his worry and shame. Did Kaito really believe that he'd blame him for all of this?

Shinichi shook his head. "None of this is your fault. Kawaguchi made those decisions and hurt me and those women. If you hadn't been there, who knows who else he would have killed?" He leaned forward pressing thier foreheads together, trying to will some sense into his partner. "Inaba and Kore would have gotten me for sure." He bumped their foreheads, once, to make sure Kaito was still listening. "You saved my life. Over and over again."

_And you came back to me_. Shinichi didn't say it out loud, but it sat there, in his mind, in his heart, like a life line. He had only felt like this once before, and he knew the only way to ease this knot in his chest was time and Kaito's continued presence.

Kaito leaned in and pressed a dry kiss to his lips, Shinichi responding by running his hands into Kaito's hair and pulling him into a deeper one. Neither of them had the energy for more, but they were more than happy to have this. When they broke apart, Kaito kissed his way down to Shinichi's shoulder, where he murmured, "I love you," into the crook of his neck and shoulder.

Shinichi laughed, the noise soft in the near silence of the room. "Then stop doing stuff to scare me."

Kaito scoffed. "Shouldn't I be saying that to you, Meitantei-kun?" He slid his hands around to Shinichi's back and pulled him into a proper hug. "You're the one that was in the most trouble." The tone was light, but there was still something very real under the tone.

Shinichi returned the hug, knowing, that like him, Kaito needed time. He was strong, and he would move on when he was ready. Shinichi would just have to be there to make sure it didn't take too long.

Neither was sure how long they stayed there. Even after they slipped to the floor, Shinichi half in Kaito's lap, and exhaustion pulling at the detective's eye lids, neither seemed inclined to move. A slight breeze wafted through the door way, and the first drops of the oncoming storm were already falling.

"We should move to the bed." The magician sounded like he was fully ready to just lay down right on the floor and go to sleep, the door could worry about shutting itself, thank you very much.

As Kaito shifted into a more comfortable position, Shinichi blinked himself back to something like wakefulness. He pulled away, slightly. "I think we should leave."

Kaito opened a single eye half way to peer at him. "Are you worried they'll try to accuse you of killing them, for real?"

Shinichi shook his head. If that were the case, he wouldn't be able to go far anyway. The police would catch up to them eventually. "No. I just think it's best we leave while everything's calmed down. If there's any more trouble, Ishida-keibu and his crew will be able to handle it."

Kaito remained silent for a moment, mulling their options over. Slowly, he nodded, apparently coming to the same conclusion. "Alright, but I drive first while you get some sleep." When Shinichi opened his mouth to protest, he added, "You can drive after." Kaito smiled, easy going and amicable, and Shinichi already knew he would agree. "I promise to wake you up if I start having problems."

Shinichi hm'ed in agreement, knowing he couldn't win. He also knew that Kaito would know that he'd give him hell if he didn't wake him up later. In agreement, the boys helped each other to their feet and set to the task of getting their stuff together.

When dawn came the next day, the hotel was empty and not a trace of Kudo Shinichi or Kuroba Kaito would be found. Their room key would be safe and sound in the hotel drop box.

Over the following months, the Sweet Tart hotel would hire new help to replace the workers it lost. Rumors about Room 131 would persist for years to come, but no further psychic activity would ever be found, causing new rumors to arise about what may or may not have happened there.

Inaba Norime and Amago Kore would eventually be charged with the murders of Akimoto Haruko and Amago Tadae, although no definite evidence would ever appear. Each member of the cult was charged with kidnapping and abiding in an attempted murder, making it the largest arrest in the history of Hananomachi. Tozawa Ikitoki and Morishige Nagasaki were both stripped of their rank, and charged, each, with two counts murder of the first degree, with a second charge of kidnapping and assisting in an attempted murder. They would both serve double life sentences, and never be free men as long as they lived.

Although they all pleaded guilty, and were charged successfully, the full story never came out. To this day, no one but the people inside the building would ever really knew what happened.

It was very likely, they never would.

-  
The End  
-

Well, this has been a fun ride, no? I'm sad to see it end, but in a lot of ways I'm glad it's over, if only to prove that I can still finish things (according to , I haven't finished a story since Jan 2001. o_o;).

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY. MAY THERE BE MANY FUN RETURNS. :)

Possible Sequel: I and a co-writer did, at one point, have a kind of AU/Possible!Canon sequel in the works, however with how much time and trouble it took to get this out and the fact that my co-writer is no longer interested in the series, I don't think it's going to be coming anytime soon.


End file.
